
flass S F4 5 ; 

Book J3 15. 

CopyiigMN 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 











DUALITY OF 

THOUGHT AND 

LANGUAGE 

AN OUTLINE OF ORIGINAL 
RESEARCH 

BY 

EMIL SUTRO 

AUTHOR OF "DUALITY OF VOICE," ETC. 












PUBLISHED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF 

Zbc pbBSiospsBcbic society 

1204 BROADWAY, NEW YORK, AND AT 
BERLIN, GERMANY 











*# 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 

Two Copies Received 

MAY 27 1904 

Cooyrleht Entry 

CLASS 7 A- XXo. No. 

xop/b 



Copyright, 1904 

BY 

EMIL SUTRO 

Entered at Stationers' Hall, London 

All Rights Reserved 



Ube Urow print, mew H?orfe 



1 ' Was wahr ist, ist vernuenftig, und was vernuenftig ist, 
ist wahr." — Hegel. 

" The scientific investigation of the spiritual is the most 
important subject before the public to-day — by far the 
most important." — Gladstone. 

"A twofold world goes to the making of a perfect 
cosmos. ' ' — Mrs. Browning. 

" His mind is, as it were, coeval with the primary form 
of things; his imagination holds immediately from nature, 
and "owes no allegiance" but to the elements — he sees 
all things in himself." — Hazlitt on Wordsworth. 

"I see from morning to night and from night to morn- 
ing, the spiritual. Bodies are all spiritual. All words are 
spiritual — nothing is more spiritual than words. Whence 
are they? Along how many thousands and tens of thou- 
sands of years have they come?" — Walt Whitman. 

" To some of us our epoch seems the dark stagnation of 
the night. But the very chill of the shadow is the prophecy 
of the day ; and to those who are awake the rosy light is 
unmistakable. Their work has begun, for a new day has 
dawned. ' ' — GRIGGS. 



MAY BE ORDERED THROUGH ANY BOOKSELLER 

flDr. j£mil Sutro's Worfce 

THE BASIC LAW 
OF VOCAL UTTERANCE 

A RECITAL OF A GREAT DISCOVERY 
Cloth, i2mo, 124 pages. $1.00. 



DUALITY OF VOICE 

"Marks the beginning of a new era." — Minneapolis Tribune 

Cloth, iamo, 221 pages. $150. 

A German edition of this work can be obtained. Price, 
$2.00. 



DUALITY OF THOUGHT 

AND LANGUAGE 

SHOWS THE SUPREMACY OF SPIRITUALITY 

OVER MATTER, IN MAN 
Cloth, i2tno, 300 pages. $1.50. 



Published under the auspices of The International 
Physio-Psychic Society of 1204 Broadway, New York 
City, and at Berlin, Germany 

flDr, J£mii Sutro's TKflorfcs 



Duality of /loan's mature 



II.— DUALITY OF THOUGHT AND 
LANGUAGE 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Introduction i 

The Old Teaching and the New 9 



Vowel Sounds 16 

Learning to Sing 23 

A Simile 29 

The Spirit's Directing Influence 33 

Is there Anything Else 40 

Degeneration ........ 49 

The Ability of Forming Concepts . . . .55 

The Gospel of Humanity 61 

Realistic Dualism 65 

The True Conception of my Task 72 

The Voice of the (Esophagus -. .... 75 

Man's Dual Nature 77 

Subconscious Language ,80 

The Thing as Such 87 

Material-Immaterial 91 

Formation of the Word 101 

The Movements of the Tongue . 106 

Intonation . no 

Thought and Language 117 

Evolution 125 



Contents 



PAGE 

The Spiritual in Language Prevails over the 

Material 132 

Influx and Efflux . 135 

Is there Logically such a Thing as a Material 

Object 140 

Language a Living Spiritual Organism . . 146 

Attraction and Repulsion 157 

Perception and Conception 160 

Physio-psychology .166 

Real and Ideal 172 

Front and Back Germans in America . . . .176 
German and American Ideals ... . 179 

Physiological Causes .192 

The Brain a Central Telephonic Station . . .196 

Song and Motion 205 

Empiricism vs. Science 212 

Discovery of a "New" Vowel Sound .... 220 
Advanced Knowledge 226 



Appendix: 

Musicians 231 

Duality of "Voice" and Journalism , . . 236 

Index 275 

The Physio-Psychic Society 279 

Consensus of Press Opinions 283 



DUALITY OF THOUGHT AND 
LANGUAGE 



PREFACE 

WHILE I have in this work succeeded in again 
viewing various important questions from a 
new standpoint, I trust the reader will defer passing 
judgment thereon until he has given careful consid- 
eration to my arguments. It is not, in any sense, my 
desire to create a sensation at the expense of the truth. 
Though the reader may not be able to verify all my 
assertions by experiments of his own (for reasons 
specially explained in this book), I trust it will never- 
theless be admitted that the "reasonableness" of my 
statements is largely in my favor as against views on 
these subjects held heretofore. 

My clear-seeing, however, must not be attributed 
to higher natural endowments, but simply to the ad- 
vantage I possessed in the discovery of the voice of 
the oesophagus and the consequent insight obtained 
into man's dual nature. But for this insight I would 
have been as helpless in matters of this kind as any 
one before me. In consequence thereof, however, and 
in spite of no little discouragement, I was induced to 
give all my time to the study of these questions ever 
since. 

The fundamental idea which has been ascertained 
consists in the fact that there is a correlation existing 



vi Duality of Thought and Language 

between the various phases of the human spirit and 
those constituting language, more particularly the 
spoken language; and that, but for this correlation, 
there could not be any language at all ; this correlation 
being of the same general order as that existing 
between body and mind. 

By penetrating into the inner being of the spoken 
language, I found that it owes its existence to a series 
of correlated physical and psychical factors of the 
same order as those constituting man, and that lan- 
guage, consequently, is a symbolical representation of 
human life. 

This knowledge has enabled me to infuse a "sour' 
into the rigid conditions represented by ex-parte phe- 
nomena apparently constituting our physical and psy- 
chical existence. This soul, consequently, represents 
a tie which unites the various sciences known as Anat- 
omy, Physiology, and Psychology into one all-embrac- 
ing science. As all these sciences emanate from the 
entity man, there must also be a way to again reduce 
thenr to that entity. 

In spite of the large amount of time devoted to 
the present work (it is five years since "Duality of 
Voice" made its appearance), it would have required 
a great deal more time still to have produced it in such 
a manner as to have given me complete satisfaction. 
Hence I must ask the reader's pardon for the imper- 
fect, and in many cases almost abrupt mode of treat- 
ment of some of the subjects, and the want of system 
in the general arrangement. My excuse is comprised 
in the fact that there still remain a great number of 
important subjects for me to communicate. I may 



Preface vii 

have to state these in an even more abbreviated form, 
rather than run the risk of not being able to com- 
municate them at all, which at my time of life would 
be apt to be the case should I attempt to state them 
more fully. 

There remains one duty for me to perform, name- 
ly, of saying thanks to those, who, either directly or 
indirectly, have assisted in the performance of my 
task. These matters having been evolved out of my 
inner self, there is no especial work I can name as 
having been of more particular benefit to me than 
another. What has aided me most, directly, is the 
dictionary. 

Indirectly, I have been encouraged by various 
friends, and by those who have favorably reviewed 
my book "Duality of Voice," as enumerated at the 
end of this book. I also owe thanks to those who 
assisted in the translation and publication of the Ger- 
man edition of "Duality of Voice," which has been 
more instrumental in making my investigations known 
than anything else, and those also who in this country 
and abroad kindly helped forming the Physio-Psychic 
Society, intimately connected with the furthering and 
perpetuating of my work. 

What shall I say of her, however, who during all 
these years, unsustained as I have been by my labor, 
has yet, cheerfully, hopefully, borne the burden with 
me? Whose clear vision and sunny temperament 
have dispersed the mists often gathering around me, 
and who has persistently led me away from a too 
arduous prosecution of my task, thereby making it 
possible for me to sustain my vitality, so necessary 



viii Duality of Thought and Language 

to the carrying on of my work up to the present time. 
Thus my thanks are above all due the brave comrade 
of my life, my high-minded and devoted wife. 

They are also due to my son, through whose labor, 
in another field, I have been enabled to give all my 
time to my work, which, though it has from a mate- 
rial standpoint remained unrewarded, has been recog- 
nized as valuable by many. 

I would, finally, advise those of my readers not 
acquainted with my previous work to read the "Ap- 
pendix" to this book and the "Consensus of Press 
Opinions" at the enci of the same, which will afford 
them an insight into the general scope of my inves- 
tigations as published previous to this book. 

New York, May i, 1904. 



DUALITY OF THOUGHT AND 
LANGUAGE 



INTRODUCTION 

THIS is the third book I have published as a result 
and in consequence of my discovery of the voice 
of the oesophagus, already conceded by many to be the 
most important and far reaching physio-psychical dis- 
covery ever made. 

While day after day witnesses new discoveries in 
mechanics and the sciences, that which is nearest 
to us and concerns us most continues to be shrouded 
in as great a mystery as ever. We know little more 
about our own existence and the occult agencies which 
establish and uphold it, than our ancestors did at the 
dawn of the history of our race. For centuries scien- 
tists have attempted to probe into the mystery of life 
by investigating matter. I have attempted to investi- 
gate the spirit which is imbedded in the essence of 
language, and in doing so have succeeded in probing 
into the mystery of life. 

The discovery of the voice of the oesophagus owes 



i Duality of Thought and Language 

its origin to a oneness of purpose, a constant en- 
deavor and effort during many years towards a single 
end, namely, the attempt to master the idiomatic ex- 
pression of the English tongue by a German and from 
a German standpoint. And this, as it has since turned 
out, has been the cause of my success. No great thing 
has ever been attained by any other means. During 
all these years, previous to my discovery, perhaps thir- 
ty or forty, I did not know I was doing anything out 
of the ordinary, but I can see now that during all that 
time I was " tuning " the entire instrument of my be- 
ing into another direction from the one in which it 
had its natural bent and inclination. 

The attempt to produce those foreign sounds in the 
correct manner was taking something away from my 
own being and giving it to another in the act of com- 
ing into existence. This " new life," so to say, was 
a " spiritual foetus " growing to maturity within me 
and to remain with me after attaining its full growth. 

This straining over into new fields of vocal sounds 
was done at the expense of the harmonious production 
of my own (German) idiomatic expression. 

I ceased to speak German for a while with the full 
development of its vocal sounds. It was a severance 
of something complete into its component parts. The 
two voices, which while speaking our native tongue 
naturally blend into one, had become separated, and 
while they would still join for the purpose of speech, 
it was done with an effort. It was only after com- 
pletely mastering the foreign idiom that both my Ger- 
man and English speech ceased to be strained and 
once more assumed harmonious proportions. 



Introduction 3 

In other words, before this last result was attained 
I had got into the habit of using " simple " sounds 
in the production of vocal utterance in both languages. 
The two voices simply sustained one another, and 
even in my own language had ceased to reinforce each 
other. I spoke and sang from the part of one hemi- 
sphere only. This mode of speaking is usually de- 
nominated " throaty " ; still, a throaty voice may be 
perfectly pure if it is confined to a single register. 

When I made the discovery of the voice of the 
oesophagus, and so many other discoveries in its wake, 
I was astonished beyond measure that they should 
not have been made centuries ago. After having ob- 
tained this fundamental knowledge the rest came to 
me easily and naturally. It was not difficult there- 
after for me to trace sounds and words and sensations 
of various kinds to separate and very definite parts 
of the body. 

While writing " Duality of Voice " I consequently 
called upon the reader to try this, that and the other, 
in proof of my assertions. It was all so perfectly 
natural and easy to me, that I never thought others 
would have any difficulty in doing precisely what I was 
doing. When some of those who had honestly tried 
to make these experiments failed to obtain the same 
results, however, it set me to thinking, and it was only 
then that it occurred to me that I had in the course 
of time become "educated" to a degree of knowledge 
in these matters which enabled me to successfully 
make experiments which others, who had not been 
thus " educated," could not make. 

This in short is the explanation and at the same 



4 Duality of Thought and Language 

time the apology I have to offer to the readers of my 
books, as far as they have found readers and students, 
for putting them to the trouble of attempting to make 
experiments, which in the nature of these things they 
were not prepared to make. In consequence of this 
new insight I have, as a rule, in this volume refrained 
from calling upon the reader to make experiments, 
thinking it to be futile and presuming that those fit 
to make them would find means and ways to do so in 
their own way. 

A further explanation of what enabled me to make 
these experiments is the following: While during so 
many years acutely listening to the production of 
the sounds of my own voice my entire attention was 
turned towards things of my inner being to the exclu- 
sion of such as came to me from without. 

In this manner my subconscious being was devel- 
oped to such an extent that during these experiments 
it prevailed over my conscious. We are so constituted 
that during our awaking moments our conscious being 
prevails over our subconscious, our impressions com- 
ing to us through our senses. Our thoughts are of the 
outer view of things, hence we cannot gain a proper 
conception of their inner being. Our conscious and 
subconscious existence, however, being of a correlative 
nature, we may become educated so as to be able to 
reverse our nature in such manner that its conscious 
part takes the place of the unconscious and the uncon- 
scious that of the conscious. 

While thus constituted, which we are while making 
such experiments as I have made, we exercise our 
faculties subconsciously and with the ability of mi- 



Introduction 5 

nutely observing their inner mode of production. Any- 
one schooling himself to thus observing will at once 
comprehend how I have been able to press into mat- 
ters which have heretofore been considered as occult. 

While such observations are being made our facul- 
ties are exercised by the use of the inner or obverse 
side of our organs of sense, and thus the subconscious 
with us becomes conscious for the time being. 

Everyone, of course, constantly exercises his facul- 
ties in this manner while thinking of something of the 
past of which he has become conscious through his 
senses, while / exercise them for things of which I 
become conscious at the time being. 

One other subject must be mentioned. I have 
been asked time and again why I do not confine my- 
self to one subject, more particularly that of vocal 
utterance. While this was my intention in the be- v 
ginning, I soon learned that vocal utterance was not 
a superficial accomplishment, a mere function, per- 
haps, but one intimately connected with our inner- 
most nature ; that it was a faculty, in fact, a matter of 
the soul more than of the body, in which both body 
and soul have their share, however, and that thus our 
entire being was involved in it. Hence to arrive at the 
true nature of the voice we must come down to first 
principles. " When I speak and you listen, my soul 
communes with your soul, and thus my thought be- 
comes your thought. And when you reply to what I 
am saying your soul becomes part of my soul, and thus 
your thought becomes my thought." Hence to ascer- 
tain the true essence of vocal utterance we must first 
attempt to find out how the immaterial thought is 



6 Duality of Thought and Language 

translated into the material sound of speech; or in 
other words, what takes place when the soul uses the 
body to make known its thoughts to another soul, 
either through living speech or through speech repre- 
sented by letters. 

The translation of the thought into the spoken 
word, though apparently instantaneous, is a process 
involving a number of both vital and spiritual issues. 
Hence, vocal utterance is a question of life and of the 
spirit, and to attempt to explain it from any other 
standpoint is and must be futile. 

Never having been viewed from this standpoint be- 
fore, nothing has ever been ascertained that has ena- 
bled one person to assist another to better his speech, 
or song, or which, in other words, has been really in- 
structive. You may tell a pupil what his vocal utter- 
ance should be, by repeating the sound, word or note 
for him, over and over again, but unless you can ex- 
plain to him what he must do to make it the same, he 
will not succeed in the attempt. 

I will not say by this that the ear may not guide 
him through instinct into the right direction, but in- 
stinct is not knowledge, and the instances where this is 
successfully done are rare. The fact that it is next 
to impossible for a grown person to learn to speak a 
foreign language idiomatically correct, yea, to even 
thus speak a single word, no matter how often he may 
try, should be sufficient proof that by simple imitation 
the production of correct speech-sounds cannot be 
learned; that it takes something more than what can 
be learned through the ear to accomplish that object. 
'As far as the attempt is concerned to obtain any knowl- 



Introduction 7 

edge on this subject through the study of the supposed 
material instrument of the voice, I have fully proven 
the folly and the futility of such attempts in my book, 
" Duality of Voice." (See also appendix to this book.) 

No one would assume that by the most minute 
study of the brain, the supposed instrument of thought, 
anything could be learned as to thought production, 
yet it is assumed that through a similar study of the 
larynx, the supposed instrument of the voice, valuable 
information as to voice production can be obtained. 

I have said that for a true insight into voice 
production we must ascertain " how the immaterial 
thought is transformed into material sounds of 
speech." 

This at first sight will appear as an attempt at 
something impossible of accomplishment. Yet there 
is a mode in which this can be done ; namely, through 
the study of the true essence of language. 

Whatever can be learned from such a study must 
be regarded as the fundamental principle upon which 
all teaching of vocal utterance should be based. In 
other words, as the word spoken or sung, is thought 
incorporated, the manner in which this incorporation 
takes place is the knowledge we must acquire to en- 
able us to ourselves bring about this transformation 
or incorporation, in our own way, and just as we 
desire it to be brought about. We can thus learn what 
should be done to speak or sing correctly, and for this 
purpose to guide voice production into its proper 
channels. Speech or song consisting of words, we 
must go to the root of words to find out the modus 
operandi by which thought is transformed into the 
word. 



8 Duality of Thought and Language 

It will be admitted that there has been but little 
progress made, even in our progressive age, as to the 
true inwardness of our nature. The reason is obvious ; 
all studies have been based upon what could be learned 
from outward appearances or phenomena, none from 
inner causes or noumena, which produce the former. 
They have been made from the standpoint of what 
could be seen, heard, touched, smelled and tasted, and 
not from that which enables us to see, hear, touch, 
smell and taste. Hence their futility and our con- 
tinued inability to enter into the domain of the spirit 
by positive observation; no means having ever been 
discovered by which we could observe the manner in 
which the spirit influences the body or in which the 
body is instrumental in influencing the spirit. 

I have discovered such a means in the study of the 
true essence of language, more particularly in that of 
the true essence of language in vocal utterance. In 
vocal utterance correlative spiritual and material 
agencies are represented. The spiritual agency is 
thought, the material agencies are the sounds through 
which we express our thoughts in the shape of words. 
Any one succeeding in ascertaining in what manner 
our thought, which is our spirit, is converted into 
words, composed of and expressed by material sounds 
of speech, has found a true entering wedge into the 
innermost secrets of our nature. Every attempt here- 
tofore made has been from either a purely spiritual or 
purely physical standpoint. As living speech repre- 
sents these issues in combination or correlatively, a 
true knowledge of its essence leads us directly into 
the road of a true knowledge of life. 



The Old Teaching and the New 9 



THE OLD TEACHING AND THE NEW. 

The voice has been a desolate creature living in a 
hut, which was filled with the foul exhaled air from 
the lungs, and in which it led a precarious existence, 
subsisting on such things as mucous membranes, mus- 
cles, sinews and the like. An abject creature, a pitiful 
existence. 

Two flimsy membranes spanned across the throat 
were seen to vibrate in sympathy with vocal sounds. 
Presto, the conclusion was arrived at, that they, moved 
by the expired air, were the agents productive of 
vocal utterance. 

Is it claimed that these bands, either the true or 
false ones, think? That they link the vocal sounds 
they are supposed to produce into words representa- 
tive of ideas? Or is it claimed, perhaps, that nerves 
connected with the brain, influence them into this ac- 
complishment? If not, what is the claim ? Surely not 
that the expired air does the thinking. Yet there must 
be some way in which this is done. Vocal sounds, 
both vowel and consonant, are void of meaning. You 
can do nothing with " d " and " o " just by themselves, 
until you link them together into a word, when you 
can " do " or express that which represents a thought 
of action. Vocal sounds are like the numerals which 
are meaningless until you state what they denote, 
what they stand for. You can link ever so many of the 
latter together, but unless there is a $ sign in front of 
them, or pounds of weight, or number of men or 



io Duality of Thought and Language 

something connected with them, they are but so much 
rubbish. 

It is not claimed, moreover, that the vocal cords 
are productive of all vocal sounds, but only of the 
vowel sounds. Yet you can do nothing with either 
element by itself, the vowel or consonant, until it 
coalesces with the other. Vowels and consonants are 
the soul and body of speech and can never be severed 
when they are to represent an idea. They represent 
the " dual nature " of speech. I shall show that even 
when a word is represented by a single vowel sound, 
the consonant element, though not bodily represented, 
is and must be present in the intonation to sustain the 
vowel element. We cannot live by the air alone, we 
must have solid ground under our feet, as well. The 
vowel sound is the immaterial air we breathe, the con- 
sonant the material earth we stand upon. 

But they say song is of a different order from 
speech and not subject to the same laws, but rather to 
universal laws appertaining to ail people and lan- 
guages alike. Song, however, is composed of words 
and these words are representative of ideas, else they 
would be meaningless and worthless. We could not 
produce song if we were confined to vowel sounds ; we 
might at most learn to warble like birds, but could 
not express a single idea. 

But I go further. I deny that the vocal cords of 
the larynx all by themselves are productive of vowel 
sounds or that they can thus be made to produce such 
sounds. They co-operate with other agencies in the 
production of such sounds. But there is something 
far above and beyond these sounds which applies them 



The Old Teaching and the New n 

to the production of speech. The human voice in vocal 
utterance is not a thing that can be represented alone, 
all by itself ; there is in fact no such a thing as a voice 
eo ipso, as already stated; the voice being a correla- 
tive emanation from our entire being. It is the most 
complex thing and cannot be taken out of this com- 
plexity and represented as a unit. No one can write 
about the voice except in connection with vocal utter- 
ance ; for, what is the voice apart from vocal utterance ? 
Yet the great majority of writers on the voice have 
disregarded this connection. 

To write about the voice in such a manner as to 
give another person useful information that can be 
applied to the perfection of such person's utterance, 
we must go down to the bottom of things ; we have 
to descend to the very fountain-head of our nature 
and elucidate it out of our entire being, physical as 
well as spiritual. 

Then, and only then, shall we be able to arrive at a 
basis from which rules may be deduced that will be 
helpful to others. I have arrived at such rules and 
shall lay them before the reader — rules that will be 
a real help and are worth more than ever so many 
singing lessons by the " best masters." These rules 
are the outcome of this complexity. For in this, as 
in other sciences from complexity, we arrive at sim- 
plicity, and rules are complexity made simple. We 
must be able to gather all the threads into our hands 
to be able to arrive at a given proposition. Lose one 
and we may go astray. 

There was not any complexity heretofore, as all 
was supposed to be simple ; aye, too simple ; neither 
was there any result. 



12 Duality of Thought and Language 

Think of it ; the expired breath possessing the fac- 
ulty of exciting a bit of mucous membrane into the 
possession of the outflow of our soul. Two wonderful 
factors, these vibrating strings and air deprived of 
its oxygen. Have we come to that? Are these our 
scientific achievements, the result of centuries of 
thought and endeavor? A string and the expired 
breath, the faculty and motive power of the highest 
performance in our nature ! 

Vocal cords are sinews, possessing no qualities 
superior to other similar things in our composition. 
These sinews, however, are placed where they are in- 
fluenced by numerous other physical factors and where 
they in turn again influence these factors, these fac- 
tors themselves meanwhile being influenced by agen- 
cies of a higher than a mere mechanical, physical or 
chemical order. 

The voice is both subjective and objective. It is an 
instrument of the highest order, after whose model 
all other musical instruments have been constructed. 
This model has been furnished by our sense of hear- 
ing. While through this sense we have been able 
to build objective instruments, we must furnish the 
subjective power which enables us to play upon them. 

This is done with rare skill and knowledge by 
many musicians. When the objective and subjective 
parts of the instrument, however, as is the case with 
the voice, are combined in ourselves, we must not only 
thoroughly comprehend our instrument, but also com- 
prehend the motive power which we are called upon to 
exercise upon it. It is another thing, of course, to 
possess a good voice as a gift of nature. In that case 



The Old Teaching and the New 13 

all these things are done intuitively. Yet even the 
most gifted singers are often at a loss how to pro- 
ceed for the purpose of obtaining good results. 

What are we, anyway, we mortals, that the sun 
may shine upon, and the breath of eternity pervade 
generation upon generation of the wisest, truest and 
best, and yet our vision and our judgment be so warped 
that our highest possession should be judged to exist 
in a mere jugglery, an infant's plaything, a mechani- 
cal toy? 

Are we better than the augurs of old, or the as* 
trologers of the Middle Ages, or than any and all 
the brainless and soulless and heartless believers an 
necromancy, fetishism 1 , voodooism, Negroes, Indians 
and the lowest of mankind, to deal in such rubbish 
as our musical journals are full of even at the present 
day? 

What do teachers teach who base their professional 
knowledge upon such absurdities? I could open any 
one of the aforesaid musical publications almost at 
any page and quote them ad nauseam. I take it for 
granted that this is unnecessary. It makes me ill to 
think of them, and I cannot comprehend how men, 
of brains can be guilty of perpetrating them. 

This has reference to pretty much all that is said 
" scientifically " regarding speech, song, elocution, de- 
fective speech, stammering, etc. I have no desire to 
use such strong language, but as what I have pre- 

1 " Fetish, a material object believed to be the dwelling of 
a spirit ; an object of worship among savages."— Standard 
Dictionary. 



14 Duality of Thought and Language 

viously said so moderately has been disregarded, I 
want to see if a blunter speech cannot arouse those 
against whom it is aimed to at least some kind of 
a reply. When a weaker instrument will not avail, 
a sledge-hammer sometimes does the work most 
effectually. 

It would be better, a thousand times, to have no 
science, than one which serves but to confuse, disturb 
and pervert the natural stream and outflow of ex- 
pression. When there was no " science," those who 
were gifted by nature with a talent for song exercised 
it in conformity with their instinct; now they are 
hampered by thought, which exercises its influence in 
leading it into all manner of wrong direction. It is 
often said that the best physicians are those who give 
the least medicine ; so are those teachers the best who 
in default of true knowledge let nature work out its 
own salvation and give their pupils the least " science." 

By and by we shall have a true science; then the 
teacher will have his brain and hands full turning 
out magnificent singers. 

The fact of thinking of the physical instrument of 
the voice is a detriment, as it clogs the voice and 
hampers it in the freedom of its outflow. The thought 
should be of the soul, that is, the meaning underlying 
the expression as embodied in the word and sentence. 
In addition and as an assistance in producing pure 
sound, the voice being of dual nature, the part of the 
body also should be thought of from which the ex- 
pression emanates. 

The special parts as yet being unknown, it is best 
to simply remember that vocal utterance is divided 



The Old Teaching and the New 15 

between what physically represents the soul and the 
body, trachea and oesophagus. A line should be 
drawn as between the two, which may extend from 
their actual dividing place in the oral cavity outward- 
ly, or from the outer inwardly, in conformity with the 
fact whether the sounds are outgoing or ingoing ; that 
is, whether the thought is of things immaterial or ma- 
terial. Such line should not be an air-line, however, 
but be equal to a division of the tongue into an upper 
and a lower half and embrace the entire body thereof. 
To prove that the trachea is not the only tube pro- 
ducing vocal utterance, it is but necessary to attempt 
to speak or sing through it all by itself, when it will 
be found impossible to utter a vocal sound. Person- 
ally, I have no difficulty in separating the two voices. 
I can sing or speak or whisper through either trachea 
or oesophagus by themselves, but the product is not 
vocal, but simple utterance. This proves the correct- 
ness of my assertion that after the larynx has been re- 
moved by a surgical operation, the voice which re- 
mains is of the oesophagus, a fact to which I have 
repeatedly called attention. 







^gggmlS&m 


■^r ; & -" ^^y -- l^v .> ^,C -"l^.; \ ^^i V 



VOWEL SOUNDS. 

VOWEL sounds are spiritual elements, which as 
such have no meaning. They do not possess any 
special value until formed into words which have a 
spiritual meaning. What benefit then is it to make 
these elements the mainstay and basis of instruction ? 

I do not wish to say that when perfectly understood 
and properly produced, that is by constantly thinking 
of them during their production, the singing of the 
scales may not be of benefit — on the contrary; but 
they are not generally understood and are not always 
properly produced. 

The same distinction which we must make as be- 
tween breathing for vital and spiritual purposes, we 
must make as between mere voice production and pro- 
duction of vocal utterance. The former belongs to our 
functions, the latter to our faculties. When a vowel 
is used all by itself it conveys a meaning and stands in 
place of a word. In that sense, however, vowels are 
but rarely sung as exercises. 

Besides, the same vowel sounds, apparently, are 
never the same in different languages. The Italian 
" a " is a different thing from the German or English 
or French " a." Hence the Italian teacher's " a " is 

16 



Vowel Sounds 17 

not the same as his English pupil's ; nor can the 
latter produce it, no matter how often he may try. 
Imitation will not avail when a person has arrived at 
maturity and his vocal utterance is produced through 
set and unalterable channels. It is a well-known fact 
that people cannot acquire the idiomatic expression 
of another tongue after they have arrived at maturity. 
While the anatomy is the same with all men, the 
manner of setting it into motion for the purposes of 
vocal utterance differs with different nations. In in- 
fancy, when all its parts are still plastic, through our 
" mother tongue," the entire machinery is given an im- 
petus in a certain direction and this impetus prevails 
during life. Hence every nation speaks its own lan- 
guage with the most perfect naturalness and ease, 
but cannot acquire the same qualities in the production 
of other tongues, for which the impetus is in some 
other direction. 

If this fact obtains in connection with speech, why 
should not the same fact obtain in connection with 
song? Song being speech produced more measured 
and soulful, we do not detect the wrong expression 
as readily as we do in speech, wherein the expres- 
sion is more compact and utterance follows upon 
utterance in quick succession. This new science, how- 
ever, may be able to teach us how to produce the true 
idiomatic expression of foreign languages, both for 
speech and song, in addition to that of our own. By 
this means even if we cannot learn to fully master the 
proper intonation of foreign tongues we can learn to 
come near mastering it. 

The singer is not a being apart from other mortals. 



1 8 Duality of Thought and Language 

He but " speaks " in a more measured and soulful 
way. To accomplish the best results he must start 
from the simplest form of expression, but the expres- 
sion must come from the soul always, even in his 
so-called " vocalizes," as we are unable to properly ex- 
press a vocal sound without first thinking of it. 

As to- singing in foreign languages, that is a thing 
greatly to be discountenanced, unless those languages 
and their sound production have at least been fairly 
understood. 

This, I know, is the greatest stumbling block in the 
way of the introduction of this new science. Singers 
want to sing the songs o<f every nation and want to 
sing them at once. These exotics, however, except 
with the highest talent, which sometimes accomplishes 
great results simply by intuition, are. produced at the 
expense of the singer's natural abilities ; nor are they 
when thus " forced " ever properly produced. 

This takes the entire subject out of the hands of 
empiricism and raises it to the dignity of a science. 
Every other branch of knowledge is based on prin- 
ciples acknowledged to be correct the world over; 
else such science would have no standing; it would 
be a futile, unrecognized endeavor. It would not ex- 
ist as a science. Vocal art is devoid of any funda- 
mental principles acknowledged to be correct. Hence 
it has been open to every inroad of speculation, none 
of which ever hit the mark, none of which ever came 
near hitting it; consequently the entire subject is 
at sea. 

In his ardent desire to obtain a correct knowledge 
of the principles underlying vocal utterance, man, de- 



Vowel Sounds 19 

spairing of his ability to do so by means of its spiritual 
motive power, has always grasped at what appeared 
to be its material instrument. While our material 
being is represented by a thousand visible and tangible 
factors, is it likely that our spiritual being, far more 
complicated in its nature, should be represented by a 
couple of mucous membraneous strings? Is it not 
more likely that all these countless material things 
known to us in anatomy should be the instruments, 
the agents, which by some motive power constantly 
exercising its influence over them, but to us unknown, 
are productive of our soul-life in all its endless variety 
as represented in language? 

How wofully physiology has failed in explaining 
what speech is, is attested by the utter failure of teach- 
ers in attaining, definite results. From everywhere 
comes the same sad story. Voices ruined instead of 
improved, healths impaired, fortunes wasted. There 
never has been what might be termed a " true " 
teacher of the voice, because the subject has never 
been understood, and it is impossible for a person to 
teach what he himself does not understand. 

Man's understanding is so circumscribed that it 
continues to cling to two separate things, a material 
and a spiritual factor, which are supposed to be far 
apart from each other, while as a matter of fact and 
as every one knows, or should know, they must for the 
purposes of life and any action thereof sustain each 
other and act correlatively. Hence every endeavor to 
explain the action called vocal utterance, song, etc., 
from any other than this correlative standpoint is, and 
must be, futile. Singers, however, live too much on 



20 Duality of Thought and Language 

the surface, they do not take the " time " to read such 
books as I have published. They " cultivate the voice " 
by singing notes, in place of cultivating the soul by 
singing words. Unfortunately, moreover, it is not the 
singer alone who has not the " time to read," for he 
must practice, practice, practice, in the same restless, 
headlong and resultless fashion as heretofore, but it 
is the editor, the man of science, the physiologist whom 
the singers look to for their information, who are 
most to blame. Even in Germany, a country on which 
I had staked such high hopes, Lilly Lehmann's book, 
" My Art of Singing/' which appeared about the 
same time as mine, is everywhere praised, while mine 
is passed by unnoticed by musical journals. 

In spite of all this discouragement I have to con- 
tinue to write, not because I wish to, but because I 
cannot help it. 

Words, either spoken or sung, stand for ideas ex- 
pressed in the English language, or the French, or 
the Russian, or any other. Words in song are subject 
to the same laws as the same words are for speech. 
In poetry our feelings find expression in the words of 
which the poem is composed. Song being poetry set 
to music, the same laws govern both. Song is poetry 
given its full expression. At first poetry, it is alleged, 
was always sung, not spoken. 

For song all the strings are set in motion, the en- 
tire body vibrates, or should vibrate, in harmony with 
the entire soul. When in speech the immediate parts 
concerned only are brought into action, one hemi- 
sphere sustaining the other, in song both hemispheres 
act in harmonious undulation. The substratum, 
the mode of recognition, the first impulse that creates 



Vowel Sounds 21 

the word, spoken or sung, is of a different order with 
every nationality. Hence the various languages and 
the difference in their idiomatic expression. 

Now speech or elocution or song, no matter what 
mode of expression may be used, are meaningless, 
unless they represent the thought that underlies them 
in every word thus expressed. These are self-evident 
facts and it would be superfluous to call attention to 
them but for the repeated assertion that song is some- 
thing altogether different from speech and not subject 
to the same laws. 

In song each syllable, represented by a note, is sup- 
posed to stand by itself, and to be expressed by itself ; 
this, at least, is the way it is usually taught; the 
scholar, however, involuntarily goes beyond the 
teacher, and has the idea, the entire word, in his mind 
always; else he could not express it. Syllables are 
component parts of a word, as a word is a component 
part of a sentence. After the thinking of a word, 
therefore, we must assign it a place in the sentence. 
A sentence may be composed of a single word or of 
many. It is the sentence, however, always which 
represents what we want to express. The final pur- 
pose of vocal teaching, therefore, should be to ex- 
press the sentence; the component parts of the sen- 
tence must then be given attention. Of course, you 
may begin with the component parts, the consonants, 
vowels, syllables, words, the connecting links, and thus 
arrive at the sentence. It is the old-time spelling and 
grammar as against phonetics and object lessons. I 
vastly prefer the latter in this instance, the analytic 
as against the synthetic. 

Compositions for song should be remodeled in 



ii Duality of Thought and Language 

some way, so as to first produce before the mind the 
entire sentence; then its representative words; then 
the words forming the connecting links ; and finally 
each separate syllable, this being about the process 
an which we conceive a sentence and read it. Songs 
written thus could be sung without the aid of a 
teacher. 

There is not much more sense eternally singing the 
scales of vowel sounds than there would be in eternally 
repeating the numerals as an assistance in the solution 
of arithmetical problems. Still, vowel sounds being the 
soul of speech, they possess the elasticity, the power 
of expression which the soul has ; while consonants, 
representing the body, are confined to a narrow and 
rigid compass. Hence, consonants in song cannot 
be uttered as scales. This is reserved to the vowel 
sounds. The problem, however, to be solved in 
vocal utterance, song, etc., is language and the 
expression thereof; not vocal sounds merely and 
their expression. Children nowadays are taught words 
as to their meaning through object lessons instead of 
letters and syllables without any meaning, to begin 
with. Why should singers be taught differently? 
Why should they not in the beginning be taught to 
speak and sing words and sentences, and their ex- 
pression in conformity with their meaning? The syn- 
tax that treats of the sentence and its construction can 
come in later as a higher study. We do not inhale 
oxygen or nitrogen, but we inhale atmospheric air. 
This we need to sustain life; the knowledge of the 
composition of air is a study necessary to the chemist, 
as that of words is to the artist. 



Learning to Sing 23 



LEARNING TO SING. 

Each word possesses a rhythm of its own in con- 
formity with its spiritual meaning. A word is subject 
to just as many different rhythmic movements as it 
has different meanings. This rhythm is hidden in the 
word, quite apart from tempo or melody, and is a 
matter of feeling. In ordinary conversation this 
rhythm is seldom brought out to perfection. The art 
of singing is, or should be, to produce each word in 
such a manner as to give by its slower movement this 
rhythm and all its other hidden treasures their full 
value. The music accompanying song but wakes in 
us a feeling or a mood in which the expression of our 
temper should be uttered as to time and volume. It 
can never affect the utterance of the spiritual meaning 
of the word proper, however, except as an echo of 
what is slumbering within us. The music should be 
a guide more than a teacher; a guide to lead us into 
our inner being and to properly bring out, to educate, 
what there is therein hidden in the word and the sen- 
tence. This can best be done by intensely feeling 
what the word, the sentence and the entire meaning 
of the poem really stand for. The music does not in- 
fluence the utterance of the word as much as the im- 
manent spirit of the word does or should influence the 
music. Hence the composition, to be true, should be 
of the inner spiritual nature of the word; or rather 
there must be an alliance between the spiritual nature 
of the word and sentence and the manner in which 
they are set to music. 



24 Duality of Thought and Language 

We must learn to produce song utterance in con- 
formity with nature before we can learn to produce 
it in conformity with art. We must know how to 
converse properly before we can begin to speak as an 
orator or actor. 

The singing teacher should therefore begin to 
teach his scholar how to speak well and soulfully, more 
especially in his own language and later on in other 
languages. After that the scholar should be taught 
to sing without the accompaniment of music, begin- 
ning with the vowel sounds, syllables, words and 
simple sentences, always thoughtfully and harmoni- 
ously. Even the singing of the scales of vowel 
sounds should be accompanied by thought always. It 
makes a vast difference whether they are produced 
thoughtfully or mechanically. Thought of the sound 
infuses the spirit into the vowels and makes them a basis 
for thought embodied in song. Then simple songs 
should be taught, still without musical accompani- 
ment. 

After the production of simple songs has been 
sufficiently mastered the study of song in connection 
with musical notes should be begun, but not before. 

It appears to me that to begin singing with the ac- 
companiment of notes is attempting to overleap a chasm 
which should previously be gradually and carefully 
bridged. The physiological and psychological part 
of voice and song production must be firmly built ; 
and song must be produced naturally by dint of it, 
before we begin to climb the artificial ladder which 
will gradually lead us to the highest pinnacle of the 
art of singing at the hand of music. 



Learning to Sing 25 

Children must begin with the primary school be- 
fore they can enter the grammar and high school and 
finally the college and university. The art of singing 
is usually begun by entering the high school, and in 
some cases even the university. The scholar has not 
had any previous education and cannot grasp and 
spiritually digest the themes set before him. 

The composer must bear the inner (spiritual) value 
of the word in his mind when setting the text of a song 
or an opera to music. Unless he does, his composition 
will be artificial but not artistic. 

He may, but should not, choose his measures, mel- 
ody and harmonies, apart from given laws to which 
they are subjected; he cannot arbitrarily choose the 
rhythmic intonation belonging to the word and the 
sentence. 

When properly composed, his music will wake in 
the singer the same feeling which he (the composer) 
had when he wrote it, and the singer will reproduce 
out of his own soul what the composer had put into 
the song out of his soul. In other words, the composi- 
tion must be of such a nature as to be able to wake an 
echo slumbering in the soul of the singer. 

To write the music first and the words to suit the 
same afterwards, as has sometimes been done, is about 
as sensible a thing as to first make the ornamentations 
and then erect the building for which they are in- 
tended, in which case in all likelihood the one would 
in no wise fit the other. The building, the substructure, 
the word, is the fundamental principle. Its inner na- 
ture, its intonation, must be expressed in the song quite 
apart, yet in addition to the ornamentation, or the 



26 Duality of Thought and Language 

melody; furthermore, the proper feeling must be in- 
fused into the word. 

It therefore seems to me that, in addition to the 
notes for the melody, there should be signs indicating 
the soulful expression, or intonation, and the feeling, 
for each separate word. These signs intended to illus- 
trate the psychologic and physiologic process which 
takes place in the evolution of the word should be in- 
corporated in the text. After having become familiar 
with these signs it will be possible to read them as 
easily as the notes, and in properly reading them, the 
process which they represent, and consequently the 
voice, will in every separate instance be produced cor- 
rectly and in conformity with natural laws. 

Simple signs may be invented for this purpose, 
designating the place where words originate in the 
body and the place they correspond with the brain. 
This will indicate the relation of body and mind, and 
the direction which the voice takes, in which it is 
evolved, and is produced for each separate word. 

To speak of voice production in a general sense 
and apply it indiscriminately to any word and sen- 
tence and to any language, is no more to the point 
than to speak of chemical analysis in a general sense 
and apply such teaching indiscriminately to every 
chemical process of whatsoever nature. When songs 
are marked as indicated, they will offer the student the 
opportunity at comprehending the full scope of the 
demands that are made upon him. With the aid of 
a competent teacher, who has made a thorough study 
of these matters, or even without such aid, if the 
scholar is himself competent to make these studies, he 



Learning to Sing 27 

should be able to develop his voice to its full capacity 
in conformity with natural laws and avoid all false 
efforts and unnatural straining thereof. When thus 
gradually and naturally developed, it will in fact be 
difficult for him to commit errors and ruin his voice, 
which is now so frequently done by false guidance and 
consequent false efforts. The time for developing the 
voice would be vastly reduced, as the haphazard mode 
of attempting to do so, as at present, would be replaced 
by a progressive science in which every step would 
count in being one in advance of the previous one. 
Besides the signs spoken of for the intonation, those 
for the accent (\/), and also those designating time 
(— w), might be used advantageously in connection with 
the text. 

Music produced on musical instruments is an- 
alogous to a subconscious language amenable to people 
of all nations alike. It is a spiritual language which 
is of the same order as our subconscious language, a 
language which is imbedded in every man's nature, as 
the substructure to his spoken language, and which led 
me on to the remark " that all languages, at bottom, 
are the same." 

For the proper comprehension of the word and its 
intonation in song in various languages, however, be- 
sides the general laws underlying the substructure, we 
must make a study of the laws and the science of the 
idiomatic expression, specially applicable to every sep- 
arate language. These laws which are formative of 
the superstructure (the various languages) require a 
separate study of their own. When music, in place of 
simply expressing feelings of a general nature, is to 



28 Duality of Thought and Language 

convey a special and direct meaning to our minds, be- 
sides the general laws applying to it as the substruc- 
ture to harmony, it must be accompanied by words, 
which in the various languages are subject to special 
laws and thus form the superstructure to that more 
complete harmony designated " song." 

Not being a musician I trust my meaning will 
nevertheless be clear. In how far I may be right or 
wrong will be for musicians to decide. So far, in 
matters of a similar nature I have succeeded in very 
nearly expressing the truth by dint of my physio- 
psychic studies. Still, I am quite ready to admit that 
these are " suggestions " merely, and not by any means 
laws and directions implicitly to be followed. The 
latter may be evolved from them, however, by mu- 
sicians. Regarding the places where words originate 
and the direction the voice takes in producing them, 
that is a subject to which much attention will be given 
in this and future publications. 

As for breathing, we breathe for words while 
thinking of them. The deeper and longer we think 
of them the deeper and longer we breathe for them. 
This dynamic or spiritual breathing is different from 
vital breathing and cannot be replaced by the latter. 
In this connection it must also be remembered that 
the voice, properly speaking, is not the producer of 
vocal utterance, but that it is the force rather which 
is infused into the spiritual meaning of words; into the 
idea, for the purpose of incorporating it into speech- 
sounds and thus imparting to it a material element 
amenable to our sense of hearing. 

Hence the expression to " cultivate the voice " is 



A Simile 29 

not quite correct. The voice cannot be " cultivated," 
but we can cultivate the spiritual expression of the 
word through the singing voice. The voice can be 
strengthened through exercise, but that can scarcely 
be called cultivating it. 



A SIMILE. 

We must deal with the word and the sentence, and 
the sound only as it is represented in the word and 
the sentence. The following simile, though not appro- 
priate in every sense, may explain matters perhaps 
better than I could explain them in a more direct 
manner. 

To deal with vowel sounds alone is like studying 
the colors of a piece of embroidery work by someone 
altogether unacquainted with such work and without 
any reference as to the design, the texture, fineness 
and quality of the yarn or the canvas on which it is 
made, and then from the study of the colors alone 
try to deduce laws as to the nature of embroideries in 
general. The colors may be imbedded in material of 
endless variety, and that material may be used in an 
endless number of ways. We must view the em- 
broidery work as a whole, if we want to obtain a 
proper concept of its design and a true appreciation 
of its beauty. The yarn as such will tell no tale, as 
little as the canvas by itself or the colors. 

The colors and their shades are representative of the 
vowel sounds, the design of the sentence, the various 
parts composing the design, of the words contained in 



30 Duality of Thought and Language 

the sentence ; the quality and the texture of the yarn 
are representative of the consonants, and the canvas 
on which the design is embroidered, of the language 
in which the sentence is written. 

It is a well-known physiological fact that there is 
a close relationship between colors and their shadings 
and between the vowel sounds and their various 
shadings. A similar likeness also exists, symbolically 
at least, between the yarn on which the colors are 
dyed and the consonants. 

If the same colorless yarn were to be used for the 
embroidery work that is used for making the canvas, 
the design would not stand out and could scarcely 
be distinguished. Thus vocal utterance is also mainly 
made audible and distinguishable through the colors 
and shades of the vowel sounds. In both instances it 
is the shade, therefore, which produces the effect. 

The color as such, however, is neither speech nor 
a work of art, as many additional factors have to be 
added to produce either the one or the other. Hence 
the^ simple singing of the scales of vowel sounds 
cannot contribute very materially to the true culture 
of the voice ; it can at most develop its volume. 

To study the mechanical or chemical process by 
which colors are produced cannot avail. They will 
give no appropriate comprehension of the color as 
such, which is immaterial, an impression, both inher- 
ent in a thing and in ourselves ; or correlatively rather 
inherent, in a thing and in ourselves. It is so with 
vocal sounds. A study of the instrument of the voice 
will give us no conception of the nature of vocal 
sounds, not even of their mode of production (in con- 



A Simile 3 1 

tradistinction to the mode of the production of colors), 
there being many subtle agencies at work of which we 
have no conception. Such study all by itself would 
be a futile endeavor, even if the instrument were 
known, which is far from being the case. 

And yet it must be admitted, when we reproduce 
all the shades of a design imbedded in a woven carpet 
or in handiwork, we have a simile of the design itself. 
Thus also if we can produce the vowel sounds just 
as they are imbedded in each separate word we have 
the word itself. The question then would be to prop- 
erly produce the vowel sounds as used on every special 
occasion. No two occasions being precisely the same, 
the intonation of the vowel sounds are never just the 
same, apart from the word in which they are imbed- 
ded. It goes without saying that the consonant sounds 
always follow the lead of the vowel sounds and par- 
take with them of their special intonation. 

As we cannot take the vowel sounds out of the 
words and produce them precisely in the same way as 
if they were connected with them, we must take words 
as we feel them and express them ; we must make 
language and not sounds the basis of instruction. In 
words, the elements of speech, vowels and consonants 
are applied in thousands of different ways to produce 
the " design," and by their shadings bring about the 
" effect " of the " embroidery work ;" each word be- 
ing a separate design. Some sounds stream in and 
some out and fuse in the most wondrous manner in 
the formation of words. In the subtle workshop of 
our thoughts precisely the same color or vowel sound 
is seldom used twice, but each color is applied rather 



32 Duality of Thought and Language 

in its endless shadings; these shadings themselves be- 
ing the product of the special composition of such 
word, besides the event, occasion, feeling, emotion, 
etc., which produces it, and for which it is used to 
express the thought which underlies it. 

I have in this simile not even mentioned the great- 
est factor, the embroiderer, the mind which creates the 
design and guides the hand with its needle and thread ; 
the spirit without which nothing can be accomplished, 
not even the selection or recognition of the color, the 
fineness of the threads and the quality of the material ; 
without which there can be no thought, no sound, no 
composition, no sentence, no word, no intonation or 
expression. 

Still we can take the spirit for granted and proceed 
with our instruction on the basis indicated, knowing 
and feeling that it will take care of itself and of us, 
and guide us aright if we but earnestly will. 

The spirit in this connection is the rhythm, the 
accent and the intonation, besides the metre and the 
emphasis. Of these I have already spoken. This 
shows that even in such a material thing as a piece of 
embroidery work there are many other factors to be 
considered. besides the canvas, the yarn and the colors 
of the design. How many more factors must be con- 
sidered in teaching singing, besides those usually 
taken into consideration, I have but simply hinted at 
in the foregoing. 



The Spirits Directing Influence 33 



THE SPIRIT'S DIRECTING INFLUENCE. 

The main difference between the production of a 
piece of embroidery work and that of a sentence may 
be said to be in the use or not use of the hand. In 
the production of " manual " labor, or of art, from the 
lowest to the highest, the mind guides the hand in 
the performance thereof, while the eye mediates be- 
tween the mind and the performance. With the blind, 
in place of the eye the touch is the censor which 
watches, guides and corrects. 

In vocal utterance, however, we have no hand 
which performs and no eye which censures, but their 
vocation is replaced by the ear. In music we have a 
hand which performs and an ear which censures, but 
in song we lack all that is tangible; the only factor 
on which we rely being the impression made by the 
material sound upon our immaterial power of hearing. 
Having no hand to perform, no eye to see, no finger 
to touch, and only an ear to hear, it is difficult for us 
to know whether we are proceeding right or wrong. 
When our ear hears we are wrong, or our teacher 
informs us so, the question arises, how can we correct 
what is false and for that purpose guide such factors 
as are productive of speech and song into the right 
direction ? 

While our eye enables us to see material things and 
to also become conscious of spiritual things in com- 
bination with material, as beauty, for instance, our 
ear never becomes conscious of material things except 
in the shape of sound. While the ear is the paramount 



34 Duality of Thought and Language 

factor through which we become conscious of material, 
the ear is the one through which we become conscious 
of spiritual things. 

All material guidance failing us, we would never be 
able to arrive at positive facts in connection with the 
production of vocal utterance, but for the muscle of the 
tongue, which by patient practice we can learn to 
guide as the artist learns to guide his hand and ringers 
directed by the mind; the body of the tongue repre- 
sents the hand, its tip the ringers. 

We use the body of the tongue, but mainly its tip 
for the performance of vocal utterance, as we use the 
hand, but mainly its fingers' tips, for every other ar- 
tistic performance; the sensitive action of all the 
fingers being represented in the tip of the tongue. 
The difference, however, is this, that while the use of 
the hand with its fingers and their tips is under the 
control of the mind, the movements of the tongue for 
vocal utterance are involuntary and on account of 
their rapidity cannot be watched. 

'The tongue is a most perfect and extraordinary 
artist. It does the bidding of the master, the mind, 
unconsciously and with unfailing rapidity. When the 
mind is right it executes its demands in a perfect and 
exquisite manner; when it is wrong it still executes 
them, but often in a most deplorable manner as to 
their outcome. 

Now the tongue is capable of not only reflex but 
also of voluntary movement, and the latter, when 
under observation, can, in contradistinction to the 
vocal cords, be made subjective to the control of the 
mind. And in this there is our salvation. We can 



The Spirit's Directing Influence 35 

guide the tongue so as to perform on the aerial keys 
of the oral cavity such themes as we desire it to per- 
form. The next question is into what direction must 
we guide it to correctly perform what we desire it to 
do? In the first instance, where must its tip point to, 
to produce the various vowel sounds in the different 
words of the different languages in conformity with 
their idiomatic expression? That is the main point. 
The proper production of the consonants and of words 
follows involuntarily when we can properly produce 
its vowel sounds, or the soul which animates them. 

Inasmuch as we are in total darkness regarding 
the physical instrument of the voice, except what we 
know about the larynx and its vocal cords, over which 
we have no control, we still have everything to learn 
about vocal sound production and the production of 
vocal utterance. 

The main trouble in this emergency and which has 
retarded progress, is the fact that every effort hereto- 
fore has been placed upon supposed " physical facts." 
These supposed facts, however, are of the flimsiest 
kind, and being simply material, are uncontrollable by 
the mind. As a help to the performer, consequently, 
they are worthless. On the other hand we are in 
possession of an endless number of spiritual facts, 
which are perfectly reliable, in the manifold properties 
of the voice and vocal utterance in general. 

An early reviewer of my book, " Duality of Voice," 
has said: "Attempts to place physical facts upon a 
spiritual basis are seldom successful." To which I 
replied: "To be sure they are. But I have not at- 
tempted to do this. On the contrary, I have attempted 



36 Duality of Thought and Language 

to place. spiritual facts upon a physical basis." (See 
appendix.) 

Knowing so much about the spiritual properties of 
the voice and so very little about the physical instru- 
ment, our aim must be to trace the spiritual perform- 
ance to its physical origin; or, to express it perhaps 
more correctly, to attempt to get at the bottom of the 
relationship existing between body and mind in the 
dual performance of vocal utterance. 

It was by watching the movements of the tongue 
that I first became conscious of the voice of the oesoph- 
agus. I found that by lowering the tongue I gained 
access to the tube of the trachea, by raising it to that 
of the oesophagus. As we breathe through these tubes 
alternately during the production of vocal utterance, 
we breathe for speech by raising and lowering the 
tongue ; a fact which I published ten years ago in " The 
Basic Law of Vocal Utterance." This raising and 
lowering is not only done by a vertical motion, but by a 
horizontal as well. It is wavelike in its action, re- 
sembling in its general aspect the endless variety of 
the waves of the ocean from almost a calm to a storm, 
in conformity with the nature of every utterance. 

In studying the movements of the tongue, besides 
the eye, the sense of touch also comes to our aid. 
While experimenting with sounds we guide the tip of 
the tongue from one direction into another until we 
strike the right sound. 

In thus guiding it we touch its walls, its bottom 
and roof, the teeth and the lips in every direction try- 
ing to find our way. When we finally strike the right 
sound we must remember what we have done, so as to 



The Spirit's Directing Influence 37 

be able to reproduce it. We use the sounds of a for- 
eign language for this purpose, and those of our own 
language as a mentor to help guiding us on our way. 
To all this I have also alluded more explicitly in my 
book, " The Basic Law of Vocal Utterance." 

Speech, or vocal utterance in whatsoever form, is 
an outcome of our dual nature; the sounds of the 
voice being the physical, the underlying thought the 
spiritual factor of this duality. Speech is of our in- 
nermost nature. It is actuated by the same secret 
forces which actuate our soul life. It is thought 
translated into the sound of words. The secret proc- 
ess by which this is done cannot be reached by mod- 
ern science, which deals with things only as they ap- 
pear on the surface. Our entire being is involved in 
vocal utterance, all our spiritual and physical forces. 

Arrogant man, thinks because he can create, di- 
rect and control intricate devices by the aid of me- 
chanical, physical and mathematical laws of which he 
has obtained some knowledge, he can in a similar 
manner direct and control issues of the highest order 
in the unfathomable plan of the creative force of which 
he himself is but an outcome ; issues in which his spirit 
fails and his boasted understanding pales and becomes 
as dim even as the brightest hue after the setting of 
the sun. 

Does it matter whether muscles and cartilages move 
upon one another in this way or that in the estima- 
tion of the investigator, who, besides, always investi- 
gates from the narrow standpoint of his own nation- 
ality, and a much narrower mechanical one at that? 
As the sounds shape themselves into words of thou- 



3 8 Duality of Thought and Language 

sands of meanings so do these muscles, cartilages, 
etc., influenced by numerous agencies, move upon one 
another in as many different ways. And they thus 
move variously for the same words, but of different 
meaning, and for words of the same meaning in differ- 
ent languages in conformity with the spirit which ani- 
mates each separate word in each separate language. 
Their movements are countless, yet they are regulated 
by immutable laws. We need not heed them. Our 
spirit, rightly directed, will direct these into their 
proper channels. Then why trouble about thern 
until we comprehend this directing influence of the 
spirit and in comprehending it ourselves learn to con- 
trol it. The knowledge of the properties of mere 
matter is valueless for our purposes, as long as we 
do not comprehend how it is influenced by the spirit 
in fulfilling these purposes. To comprehend this in- 
fluence, more especially in connection with vocal ut- 
terance, is the great problem I have set before me 
and hope to solve to some extent at least for others, 
as I have solved it for myself. If I live, the future 
will tell. 

I have taken the poor man out of his hut in the 
alley and have built him a palace on the hillside, where 
the sun shines through its windows and the fresh wind 
from the East pervades its halls and corridors. The 
gloom and the mystery have left his abode and the 
air and the sunshine have taken their place. The 
monotony of his poverty-stricken existence has been 
exchanged for the word and the spirit; for a god 
within and the endless universe without ; for the com- 
munion of man with man by aid of the spirit which 



The Spirit's Directing Influence 39 

presides over vocal utterance in its spoken and written 
word, and which unites the past with the present and 
the present with the future. Why wait and hesitate? 
The evangel of a new religion has come to take the 
place of a wooden image. 




IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE? 

A SHINING light among vocal teachers modestly 
admitted that there were " some things in connec- 
tion with the voice unknown even to himself." A Ger- 
man professor, in answering my question regarding 
the position of science in spiritual matters, enlightened 
me by saying " we (the scientists) have not quite mas- 
tered those points yet," thus intimating, as they knew 
everything else, they would soon get there. A pro- 
fessor of philosophy returned my book, "Duality of 
Voice," remarking, " it did not fall within the field in 
which he was working." He was busy with the "will." 
A physiologist wrote me, " The title page of your book 
is a stroke of genius," not another word ; he would not 
commit himself any further. He had previously seen 
the manuscript, but not the altered title. 

The remarks of these gentlemen are characteristic 
of the entire endeavor of the materialistic school. It is 
laboring under the delusion that it is really attempting 
to probe into the mysteries of life, while it is merely 
looking at its " title page," having never read a single 
line of the real book. I have been kept on the rack 
by its representatives for ten years, not one of them, 
to my knowledge, having been willing to seriously 

40 



Is There Anything Else? 4 1 

look into these matters or to discuss them openly in 
one of their journals. 

Physiology will never be able to reach conclusions 
worthy of its endeavors as long as it confines itself 
to the outward appearance of things ; to the outer con- 
sciousness in its researches, in place of the inner; the 
physical in place of the psychical; the outer being 
another man's consciousness, which we cannot look 
into, and therefore, as far as any results are concerned, 
in reality no one's ; the inner, being our own, we can 
probe into its secrets, and in so doing, into every- 
body's secrets. 

The outer consciousness sees but what is on the 
surface, the phenomenon ; the inner penetrates into 
causes. Unless physiology changes its methods, any 
schoolboy who has trained himself to look into himself 
during his endeavor at explaining phenomena may 
laugh it to scorn. What have all its boasted accom- 
plishments ever amounted to in regard to the exercise 
of our faculties ? What aid have they been to human- 
ity? What has it taught us regarding our soul- 
life ? It denies the eternal moving power of the spirit 
and lays every accomplishment, yea, our very exist- 
ence, at the door of mechanical and chemical agencies. 
It tries to make machines out of us, we who are spirits. 
Carlyle, when invited to go to a haunted house to see 
the " spooks," replied, " I do not need to go that far, 
I can see thousands of them moving along London 
Bridge or the Strand any time of the day." 

In the introduction to the fifteenth edition of Kirk's 
Handbook of Physiology, 1899, you can read the fol- 
lowing : " The question arises, however, is there any- 



4 2 Duality of Thought and Language 

thing else? Are there any other laws than those of 
physics and chemistry to be reckoned with ? Is there, 
for instance, such a thing as vital force?" It may be 
frankly admitted that physiologists at present are not 
able to explain all vital phenomena by the laws of 
the physical world, but as knowledge increases it is 
more and more abundantly shown that the supposition 
of any special or vital force is unnecessary; and it 
should be distinctly recognized that when, in future 
pages, it is necessary to allude to vital action, it is not 
because we believe in any special vital energy, but 
merely the phrase is a convenient one for expressing 
something that we do not fully (sic) understand, 
something that cannot at present be brought into line 
with the physical and chemical forces that operate in 
the inorganic world. 

It will be in connection with the nervous system 
that we shall have principally recourse to this con- 
venient (sic) expression, for it is there that we find 
the greatest difficulty in reconciling the phenomena 
of rife with those of the non-living." 

" Denn eben wo Begriffe fehlen, da stellt ein Wort 
surrechten Zeit sich ein." — Goethe. 

"Just where we fail to grasp a meaning there comes 
along a most convenient word." 

Vitality! So they reluctantly concede there may 
be such a thing as that at least, unexplainable " for 
the present " through material laws. That's what we 
have come to in this the dawn of the twentieth cen- 
tury. " A little learning is ' indeed ' a dangerous 
thing." 

"A little," in spite of the accumulation of the re- 



Is There Anything Else? 43 

suit of centuries of study in endless tomes of scientific 
lore. We, who are spirits, have been decreed matter. 
Matter moved by matter. The task of the century 
upon which we are now entering will be to disprove 
all this and to make us again spirits — matter presided 
over and moved by spirit. 

Scientists look at life and its manifestations from 
the dead man's point of view ; as a man would look at 
them whose judgment and feelings have been elimi- 
nated, but who is still gifted with the faculties of 
sight, touch and hearing, as far as these faculties might 
be capable of being exercised under such circum- 
stances, but no further. 

They leave their own life and feelings out of the 
question and describe what they notice in other lives 
from this cadaverous standpoint. In other words, 
though we are spirits, in their examinations they omit 
the spirit. They describe the manifestations of the 
spirit, yet deny the spirit. They build a race in the 
river, but do not let a drop of water run into their 
mill, yet expect the grindstones to move and grind 
their grain into flour. They bathe in a stream from 
which the water has been drained and come out as 
dry as when they went in. In consequence, they are 
not much wiser after their studies regarding the es- 
sence of life than they were when they first entered 
upon them. What the professor cannot demonstrate 
in his laboratory certainly does not exist. 

Psychology follows in the same footsteps. It de- 
lights in the examination and description of the un- 
usual, the abnormal or supernormal, being incapable 
of comprehending the normal. Yet it is necessary to 



44 Duality of Thought and Language 

comprehend the normal before we can begin to com- 
prehend the abnormal or supernormal. 

It cites extraordinary, wonderful or miraculous 
cases and expects to attain results in the comprehension 
of the normal by making exhaustive studies into 
the abnormal. It also looks at phenomena from the 
dead man's point of view, leaving its own living en- 
tity and all its endowments out of the question. 

In other words the modern scientist is determined 
to penetrate into the secrets of life, in what appears 
to him the only rational standpoint, namely, the one 
over which he thinks he has control, the material or 
physical, but he fails because in reality he has no such 
control, except through those very spiritual agencies 
which he discards as non-existent. 

He tries to reach conclusions through observation, 
experience and experiment; but confines himself to 
observation of phenomena without attempting to probe 
into their causes; he confines himself to experience 
of a physical order and to experiments with physical 
things ; meantime denying the existence of the spirit 
without whose aid he could not possibly even attempt 
that much. 

Is it necessary that we should comprehend and 
know everything, we little men that strut this little 
earth? Should we not rejoice rather and be content 
with what we possess and are capable of possessing, 
and in the onward course of our evolution hope for 
further enlightenment, hereafter? 

It has been said that a scratch made with the point 
of a needle upon a large globus representing the earth 
would be about equal to the deepest point ever reached 



Is There Anything Else? 45 

by man below the surface of the earth, or to the deep- 
est ditch, hole, mine or artesian bore ever made. 

This is about the standpoint of the science of to^ 
day regarding life and our entire human existence ; a 
standpoint which recognizes nothing as scientifically 
proven that cannot be ascertained through the senses. 
From this standpoint we can at most make a scratch 
with the point of a needle upon the great globus, repre- 
senting the spiritual laws and truths which govern 
the universe and govern ourselves, and point to that 
scratch as our scientific accomplishments in the knowl- 
edge of our physio-psychical being. 

That I have gone a step further in the exploitation 
of these laws, have made the scratch a little deeper 
upon that mighty globus, I positively, but with due 
humility, assert. 

Who will sustain me in this " bold " step, or will 
it be forgotten and go for naught ? 

I will not claim any undue merit for myself. A 
window pane in an ancient castle had been obscured, 
being covered with cobwebs and the dust of ages. 
I persistently cleaned it; and see, w T hen the sun began 
to shine through it, vista upon vista presented itself to 
my astonished view. The old castle, which had been 
swarming with all manner of spooks, began to be 
filled with beautiful forms of life and color. It ceased 
to stand by itself solitary and alone, but became part 
of the surrounding landscape and the world; forms 
of life, gifted with spiritual beauty, began to float 
in and out, mingling with the air and the ether and 
ascending to the very stars. 

That window pane was the diaphragm. It was 



46 Duality of Thought and Language 

covered with the dust of ages. All that was spiritual 
in us was supposed to belong to the brain alone. 
When I succeeded in looking through the diaphragm 
I found there was spirituality below as well as above 
it. 

Mr. Bell constructed his telephone on the strength 
of his discovery that the voice could be sent through 
a diaphragm of man's construction. But he probably 
did not know that his diaphragm in reality was a 
duplicate, in a mechanical sense, of the one separating 
thorax and abdomen. The voice had to> pass through 
the latter before it could find its way into Mr. Bell's 
diaphragm. Freighted with positive and negative 
or spiritual and physical elements it could then be car- 
ried along his wires and be understood at the other end. 

After I learned to look through the diaphragm I 
discovered a new world. That world was the hem- 
isphere of our material existence, which, together 
with the "old " world, the hemisphere of our purely 
spiritual existence, constitutes the sphere called man. 
It used to be the brain alone. To this, through my 
discovery, has been added every other part located 
above the diaphragm, while all that is located below 
the diaphragm was ascertained to apertain to the 
hemisphere of the spiritual-material world. This 
world of ours, man's body, proved to consist of two 
hemispheres, the spiritual and the material. It was 
found to be of dual nature. 

The sphere of thorax and abdomen, in fact, proved 
to be a representation not only of dualism, but of 
monism as well. Two in one as well as one in two. 
And this is the mystery and probably always will be. 



Is There Anything Else? 47 

Before Columbus, this little world of ours was a 
flat body anchored somewhere in the universe " as its 
centre,'' everything else revolving around it. Man, as 
the centre of this centre, was great then, which, how- 
ever, did not prevent him in " divine " questions from 
bitterly persecuting and torturing his fellow men " for 
the benefit of their souls." The earth was the " world " 
around which sun and moon and all the stars, " as 
shining points in the canopy of the sky," were revolv- 
ing. This view of the " world " has been retained to 
the present day in our speech, for we still " sail 
around the world;' we show " a map of the world/' 
or are willing to " let the whole world know it," and 
many other expressions of a similar nature, when we 
are simply thinking of the earth. In this sense God 
also sent us His Son to do penance for the sins of the 
world by surrendering his life for man's benefit. To 
Him also this earth was the world in which all His 
grace and benefactions centred; else He would not 
have limited the Son's mission to our tiny globe. God 
cannot be greater than the time and the people from 
which He emanates. Since then the telescope has 
opened to our eyes the endless eternity of the universe, 
but the Church still lives in the dark ages, and until 
lately menaced everyone with its ban who dared to 
offer scientific proof which could not be reconciled to 
its doctrines. 

" Science " has since reduced man from his high 
estate ; it has " shorn " him of his " divine " qualities, 
has made him a brute even with a brute ancestor. We 
must uplift him again from this low estate and degra- 
dation; lift him higher, in reality, than ever he was 



48 Duality of Thought and Language 

before ; not by so-called " divine " laws, but by laws 
of nature heretofore hidden from our gaze. 

Adding the new world to the old, Columbus made 
of our earth a " sphere." Adding the hemisphere of 
the abdomen, the physical, to that of the thorax, the 
spiritual, through these studies body and soul have 
been united in the " dual sphere of man" ; this sphere, 
though divided in two, is nevertheless throughout 
spiritual as well as physical. The proof of this seem- 
ing paradox shall not be wanting. 

After Columbus, our earth, from its original moor- 
ings somewhere in the universe, was launched by 
Copernicus into the sky, where it has been serenely 
floating, a little star, a vassal to the sun, ever since. 
The sphere of man, after having been moored fast, 
first in purely spiritual, and of late in purely material 
issues, always at war with each other, will hereafter, 
I hope, be also seen serenely floating aloft in the 
correlative union of these two. 

The pre-natal as well as the post-mortem forces 
which influence man's destiny should be looked at as 
an " advancement " from the lowest to the highest, 
rather than as an " evolution " of the higher from the 
lower. It is but a word, but words are mighty factors 
through their spiritual meaning; it being simply the 
difference as between looking forward and looking 
backward. 



Degeneration 49 



DEGENERATION. 

When I look at my tongue I am looking at as 
many millions of tongues as there are people living 
upon this earth, and at as many countless millions 
more as have lived upon it in the past, as well as the 
myriads of tongues of men still to appear upon this 
earth ; not to speak of the tongues of such animals as 
bear a close resemblance to man's tongue. For such 
is the constancy of nature that what is true with the 
individual is true with the entire race. 

If this were not so, there would be no knowledge, 
no science, no truth ; we would not understand either 
the past or the present and could have no hope for the 
future. There would be chaos. The constancy of nature 
is our anchor of trust, confidence and hope in all the 
apparent vagaries and inconsistencies of life. It con- 
sists in unalterable and eternal laws, which no God, 
real or imaginary, can change. If He could, but in 
a single instance, it would be done at the peril of the 
entire edifice of the universe. Hence, the miracle has 
no standing before the enlightened knowledge of the 
present age. Conception and birth, life and death, 
must in every instance be produced by the same causes 
and in conformity with the same laws. 

Man is the highest outcome of these laws upon 
this earth. He has been evolved from the lowest form 
during epoch upon epoch of favorable circumstances. 
For these laws, once concentring in any one given 
individual form, no matter how simple such form's con- 
struction, work on incessantly towards a higher goal. 



50 Duality of Thought and Language 

This central idea of Darwin's has delivered us 
from the thraldom by which we were bound to an ex- 
ternal and arbitrary " God." It was a great liberating 
and uplifting idea and deed. From servants it made 
masters of us all. How did this knowledge originate ? 
By observation ; constant, painstaking, incessant, care- 
ful observation of nature's action and accomplish- 
ments. For while we are creatures merely and sub- 
ject to laws we cannot alter, we are gifted with the 
gift of observation of these laws. While we are not 
actors, we are spectators ; more or less intelligent spec- 
tators, observers and critics. 

Still, Darwin, while closely watching what was go- 
ing on in nature and informing us of the results of his 
observations, was from beginning to end but a specta- 
tor, an observer of phenomena. He never got behind 
the scenes to find out how these phenomena were 
enacted. 

Whatever knowledge I may possess has also been 
attained by observation, not of outward appearances, 
however, but of actions that are going on within us. 

While Darwin and his school were the authors of 
the liberation of our race from superstition and thral- 
dom, in one direction, they were also the authors pro- 
ductive of a disastrous retrograde movement. 

Man, in abolishing " God," constituted himself a 
god in God's place. He forgot that he was a mere 
observer and fancied himself a creator. Following 
Darwin's example all of man's energy henceforth was 
displayed upon observation. Very many very won- 
derful facts were thus noticed and brought to our 
knowledge. 



Degeneration 51 

But the triumph of these scientists ended in trag- 
edy. The tragedy of the banishment from the world 
of faith and hope (of faith in higher laws than those 
indwelling in matter, of hope in a higher develop- 
ment of the soul after this life), and in the destruc- 
tion of the ideal. With the destruction of the arbi- 
trary " God " the spirit and the soul were also dis- 
credited and abandoned. Matter governed all ; matter 
moved by matter, physics, chemistry and mechanics. 

Great observers, like Haeckel and his school, delved 
into the mystery of mysteries and endeavored to solve 
them from this material standpoint, which they de- 
nominated " monism." Everything was involved in 
matter and evolved from it. It became sovereign and 
supreme. 

These observers inaugurated the " reign of the nat- 
ural sciences " and the recognition of the truth through 
the same. There was nothing under the sun that 
could not be thus explained. This explanation was the 
solution of the " Weltraethsel," of the mystery of 
mysteries. To accomplish it two things were re- 
quired, " experience and causality " ; which, together 
with every other faculty, were evolved from the " high- 
est factor in our composition — reason." 

What is the consequence of this endeavor? A low 
conception of all human thought and effort, which 
makes its presence felt in a dark and sinister vein 
stretching its unwholesome length throughout every 
department of art, literature, the drama, as well as 
every other poetic and idealistic conception, and eating 
its way even into the sanctity of the home and the 
hearth. 



52 Duality of Thought and Language 

In being deprived of " God " we were deprived of 
religion. The " religion of nature " was to take the 
place of a discarded and moribund " faith." 

As the wonders of nature, largely by the aid of the 
microscope, unfolded themselves ever more to the 
astonished gaze of mankind, the observers dropped as 
obsolete, the Jewish and Christian mythology, and 
embraced instead the cult of the " True, the Good and 
the Beautiful." An admirable cult. Yet something 
was wanting; that which produced this trinity of 
grace, which was behind these mechanical, physical 
and chemical, stern, unalterable and eternal laws mov- 
ing ourselves and the universe. 

Great and fruitful as the endeavor has been in one 
direction, the world must be rescued from its sum- 
mary result, the destruction of the ideal, by the restitu- 
tion of the soul and the spirit. The purely spiritual 
can and must be shown to be the highest factor in the 
world dominating every issue. It must be shown to 
be, of universal presence, constituting in itself the 
creative and a//-sustaining power. It must be shown 
to be the force of forces, the energy of all energies. 

We all know that it exists; but as scientists have 
been unable to bring it within the compass of their 
comprehension through their senses, they are begging 
the question by discarding it as non-existent. Science 
wants to explain all things. Yet it is the very mys- 
tery which surrounds us, and into which our under- 
standing can never penetrate, which gives us our high- 
est consecration. 

The fact has been lost sight of that while we are, 
and in the main will always remain hopelessly ignorant 



Degeneration 53 

of the inner working of our nature, our yearning, long- 
ing, praying, hoping and desiring for something beyond 
and above us are our best possessions. They are at 
the bottom of music, art, poesy and religion. Without 
them the world would be hopelessly drear and sterile. 
And in this sense, also, Schiller's words must be un- 
derstood : 

" Nur der Irrthum ist das Leben 
Und das Wissen ist der Tod." 

" Life is error everlasting, 
Yet in knowledge there is death." 

The last verse, however, may also be rendered: 

" Ours is knowledge after death." 

I have found a means by which the spiritual can 
be brought within the compass, not of our faith, but 
of our knowledge, mainly through the manner in 
which it reveals itself in the essence of language, and 
it requires neither microscope nor telescope, nor chem- 
istry or physics, to thus reveal it to all men. 

The world has ceased to be an absolute monarchy 
and has become a republic, whose constitution con- 
sists of eternal and unalterable laws, which exercise 
their influence throughout the universe. They may be 
summarized under the headings of Mechanics, Physics 
and Chemistry, constituting material forces, or energy ; 
and under those of Vitality, Emotion and Spirituality, 
constituting the higher, so-called, supernatural forces. 
The former are of the earth, the latter of the ether. 
While the former are recognizable through our senses 
and may be governed by our will, the latter are im- 



54 Duality of Thought and Language 

ponderable and govern us more than we are able to 
govern them. 

Of these, spirituality is the most potent. It is of 
the ether which pervades all things. It exercises its 
influence backward and forward through all eternity, 
and dominates by irresistible laws space and whatso- 
ever obstructs space. It is thus the parent of both 
space and time. 

The telephone has annihilated both space and time. 
I talk to my friend a thousand miles away as if we 
were in the same room. Our conversation is of 
a purely spiritual nature transmitted by electricity. 
Hence it is the spiritual which thus annihilates space, 
and the time usually required for traversing it. 

When in the beginning of this chapter I spoke of 
the " constancy of nature " as illustrated by the tongue, 
I had, as a matter of course, in mind the material as- 
pect only of nature, and consequently also of the 
tongue. The movements of the tongue, on the other 
hand, for vocal utterance, are an outcome of every 
man's, and more particularly every nation's individual 
spiritual nature, as represented by their language, and 
are of a different order from any material develop- 
ment. Nature's " constancy," however, is also para- 
mount in every spiritual issue and can be positively 
demonstrated through the laws which govern lan- 
guage. 



The Ability of Forming Concepts 55 



THE ABILITY OF FORMING CONCEPTS. 

Men are said to be descended from monkeys, or, 
to speak more accurately, from the anthropoid ape, 
and to belong to the same race. Yet the ape, in spite 
of that, is but a poor creature. It has no soul and 
would have scurried around unknown in the primeval 
forests forever had not the human spirit come and 
made it a mere epoch in the history of the ascent of 
man. The human spirit discovered the anthropoid 
ape, and in that it communicated the fact of its ex- 
istence to all other men, it has to all intents and pur- 
poses created him for us. 

An ape, however, could never discover a man, and, 
having discovered him, create him for his fellow apes. 

Without the word every discovery would be use- 
less, for it could never be communicated either to con- 
temporaries or posterity. 

Let us stick then to the word. 

The world first begins for men with the conscious- 
ness that perceives a world. The first consciousness 
was the child of the idiomatic expression which had 
long slumbered in humanity and was first waked to 
activity through the mediation of the word. The soul, 
thus having found a body, was enabled to perpetuate 
this expression. Then for the first time had we a 
world. Whatever exceeds that, is born of a later 
imagination. 

With the idiomatic expression, preceded by the 
idiomatic impression, commenced human insight, and 
consequently civilization. Before that there were only 



56 Duality of Thought and Language 

animals in human form. By means of the idiomatic 
impression a soul was breathed into the animal. There- 
fore we must consider the idiomatic impression made 
by the elements, the flowing waters of a brook, the 
wind, the waves of the ocean, or even rest and peace, 
as " the beginning," for however we look at it, before 
man, there was for us no world, as there will be none 
when man has passed away. Nor can we imagine one, 
for with man as the first capable of forming a concep- 
tion, began the first conception. From the first im- 
pression, arose the first expression, that is to say, the 
concept translated into a word, and therefore the first 
word, because the first expression of an intelligent 
soul, must be called " the beginning." 

Before man there was no beginning in the proper 
meaning of the term, although we will always be try- 
ing to picture one, for it passes the bounds of human 
ability to put a limit to infinity. For want of some- 
thing conveivable it is always striving to conceive the 
inconceivable. This attempt leads to superstition and 
mysticism and at the present day wields a potent in- 
fluence even among the educated in the shape of the 
Jewish-Christian mythology. 

However incomprehensible may be the mystery that 
envelops us, and however endless may be the infinity 
of time and space in which we are immersed, yet in the 
first spoken word can we find firm standing ground. 
This is " the beginning." The study of the word, as 
the representative of the thing, is of equal significance 
with the study of the ego. If we once understand 
the word in its origin and development we are upon 
the right road toward understanding everything else. 



The Ability of Forming Concepts 57 

It comes to us we know not how, embodies an idea 
and makes that idea comprehensible to others. 

Science makes a mistake in trying to judge things 
according to appearances. Their nature can only be 
understood properly in their relationship to ourselves. 
They have their being in us and it is their relation to 
us and our intelligent soul that lends them substance 
and lies at the bottom of their appearance. 

He who will discover the truth must be content 
with the bounds of human reason. To go beyond 
them is to have nothing intelligible to communicate. 
For us man is the quintessence of the world, the world 
creative in his consciousness and reason, as well as 
the world created. 

Although geology furnishes indisputable proof that 
man is a relatively recent product of the earth (it 
needed the longest time to bring forth the final prod- 
uct), and although astronomy furnishes proof that the 
world has existed for endless ages before he made his 
appearance, yet it is only through his own power of 
thought and reasoning faculties that these results have 
ever been arrived at. We must, therefore, in spite of 
this knowledge, consider as one the origin of human 
thought and consciousness and the origin of the 
world, in as far as we come in contact with it; and 
this brings us again to the word, which, through its 
dual nature, makes it possible for us to know both 
ourselves and our world; and, because it can be com- 
municated, lays the foundation for every science. 

It is the presence or absence of this power of vocal 
mediation that forms the line of demarcation between 
man and the animals. One thing seems clear to 



5 8 Duality of Thought and Language 

me. If the word is able to make a man out of an 
animal, we need only investigate the word to discover 
the truth that lies at the base of this process ; a truth 
that ought to lay bare the most secret springs of our 
nature. 

We can to a certain extent by means of the imagi- 
nation think ourselves back into our prehuman condi- 
tion. But our imaginations are the representatives of 
our consciousnesses and our intellects, and so we are 
by means of them brought back into this condition 
" in persona," so to speak. But while our imaginations 
are able to carry us back into the dimmest past, that 
past ever recedes before our grasp and has no inde- 
pendent substantiality. It is a creature of our mind. 

It is man himself, then, that makes the beginning, 
and his beginning is coeval with the dawn of his self- 
consciousness. The beginning of the world, then, is 
well stated in the sentence, " In the beginning was the 
Word." 

The world was soulless till man came and breathed 
his soul into it. We do not know whence the spirit of 
man came, nor will we ever know. But we do know 
that the life in nature as far as we are able to per- 
ceive it is a correlative emanation from man and na- 
ture, and thus without him there would be neither na- 
ture nor world. The sentence " There is nothing new 
under the sun " has its justification only in this, that 
everything that has yet been discovered and ever will 
be discovered, and everything that ever has been said 
and ever will be said, really was already in existence 
and only awaited the human spirit in order to be 
brought to light. 



The Ability of Forming Concepts 59 

In this way a new act of creation is taking place 
every day, every hour. The world never ceases being 
created (quite apart from births and the development 
of living things into new forms), for the human spirit 
is never at rest. Its work is without beginning and 
without end. Apart from the human spirit the world 
has no meaning. Should it cease in its activity, the 
world would vanish, as there would be no intelligence 
to conceive it. We can, however, confidently assume 
that then another race would people our earth, the 
successors of man. They would be a higher race, 
which would carry to completion the work that hu- 
manity had begun and steadily progress to higher 
achievements and nobler goals. 

The artist who has created this world has need 
of witnesses for his art, someone to understand it, 
assimilate it and admire. For what other purpose 
would it exist ? There would be no artists and no art 
if there were no one to recognize and appreciate their 
products. 

True appreciation does not consist in crawling in 
the dust before our Maker and hiding our faces from 
Him, but in standing upright and beholding His crea- 
tion face to face. Thus only will we be able to com- 
prehend Him and hope to become ever more worthy 
of Him. 

We ought only to busy ourselves with the relation- 
ships with which our intellect is competent to deal. 
Whatever is beyond that is idle fancy, never leads to 
clarity of conception, and only succeeds in producing 
distraction. 

Of all the divinities that ever ruled the world there 



60 Duality of Thought and Language 

was none that could help us and give us succor but 
that which in us dwells. The deeper we investigate 
ourselves and the wider we carry our researches, so 
much the deeper, more intelligible and more spiritual 
becomes our world. The broadening and deepening of 
the human spirit is, therefore, and ought to be, not only 
our highest privilege, but also our highest duty. 
Everything depends on this. Whatever is more than 
this is mere speculation and has no direct influence on 
our world and being. 

Literature, art and science and a poetic concep- 
tion of the universe are the altars upon which we must 
sacrifice. These are no dead gods, but live and ever 
strive toward higher goals, and conduct us with them 
upwards on heavenward leading paths. 

A philosophy which savors not of the breath of 
poetry may speak to the reason, but will never comfort 
and do justice to the propensity in us for something 
better, our desires, our longings and the feeling which 
bows before a higher power, and which we usually 
call " religion." 

We can only speak for ourselves. As to what con- 
cerns other worlds and their inhabitants we can only 
take it for granted that they, too, are animated by the 
same world-spirit that comes to us raw material, is 
worked up in us into the finest fabric, and leaves us a 
spiritual product, 



The Gospel of Humanity 61 



THE GOSPEL OF HUMANITY. 

If we abandon the theory which teaches that there 
is a power external to us and the universe which loves, 
protects, guides and sustains us, and with which we 
are in rapport, to which we cry in our necessi- 
ties and are heard; if we abandon the idea of the ex- 
istence of such a personal power which we call God, 
what have we to put in its place? 

Denying as I do the possibility of the existence of 
such a power, I would put in place of an unknown, 
incomprehensible, even impossible God, " The divine 
mission of man," " the God-man," " God in man." 

We are always groping after the supernatural (of 
which we know nothing and which we can neither 
conceive nor comprehend) in order to marvel at it 
and adore, but we have so much of the supernatural 
in ourselves that it ought to give sufficient object for 
our adoration. We know that this supernatural exists, 
although we are not in a position to say from what 
sources it springs. We call it Love, Friendship, Rev- 
erence, Sacrifice, Courage, Joy, Righteousness, Feel- 
ing, Music, Art, Poetry, Genius, and give it many other 
names and designations. We know that these gifts, 
powers, qualities and potentialities are well grounded 
in us, that we are imbued with them and have ever 
been under their influence. But if the question is 
asked, whence come they, we stand uncertain and 
helpless, just as before the similar concept of the word 
" God." The deeper we penetrate into the relations 



62 Duality of Thought and Language 

existing between soul and body, the deeper we also 
penetrate into this latter concept, as I have shown by 
means of these, and others by similar investigations. 

This penetration into the divine principle which 
dwells within us is a higher honoring of God than 
the groping after things which lie beyond us and 
are foreign and unattainable to our finite nature. 
Priestcraft has long understood how to bind a yoke 
on the necks of mankind by leaving unnoticed and 
passing over the living wonders known to us through 
our own perception and our immanent conscious- 
ness, and to foist on us instead wonders " im- 
possible " to our comprehension. They have put our 
God in an untenable wonderland and have enslaved 
and martyred those who refused to believe in this God 
and wonderland. 

On account of the isolation of those of different 
belief, particularly of whole tribes, races have sprung 
up who to this day hate and kill each other. All on 
account of a personal God, a scheme that far tran- 
scends our reason and which, when viewed in a proper 
light, must be considered delusive and impossible. 

A mutual faith, the same as a common language, 
as a mighty and influential spiritual element, is apt to 
exercise a powerful influence in the development of 
spiritual and material characteristic traits, which will 
impress its stamp upon a number of people and in 
course of time create them a separate race, and races 
are apt to antagonize each other. 

The miracle is man himself, man healthy and sane, 
much more so than man weak, ill, impotent, hypnotic, 
spectral. Let us cling to normal man and worship him 



The Gospel of Humanity 63 

in his good and high qualities and strive to imitate 
him in everything good and high which he offers. Let 
this be our priesthood and our church. 

Of the inborn nobility of man we have positive 
knowledge, not only from countless examples drawn 
from the history of the past, but also from our own 
time, which gives us apt examples personally known 
and accessible to us. We can hardly open a news- 
paper that does not tell of noble deeds performed by 
someone even lowest in the social scale. Man as we 
know him, even though he often errs, yet taken as a 
whole, can only deserve honor and trust. 

What we are able to know of God is a knowledge 
that springs from ourselves, the knowledge of the 
highest of which man is capable. By conceiving our 
God as our highest ideal of man we get a Buddha, 
a Jesus, etc. The greatest fancy of immortal poet or 
painter has never been able, when portraying a god, 
to pass beyond the qualities which characterize man. 
We are in, and ever remain within, the limits set by 
our " ego." It circumscribes our whole reason. Our 
God is the reflection of ourselves. Conversely we are 
the reflection of our God. Why should we worship 
this image that springs from our imaginations and 
through superstitious additions is ever further removed 
from our reason? Why not rather the original from 
which it sprung ? Would it not be better if we sought 
to imitate the high examples of great men? If we 
sought to be the god we worship? 

When we rightly understand man we come more 
and more to the conviction that he is not only of divine 
origin, but also that he is predestined to fulfil a divine 



64 Duality of Thought and Language 

mission. If the divine principle did not dwell within 
us we could not exercise any influence over other men 
and over the nature of animals closely related to 
us. As these are under our influence so are we 
under the influence of higher powers, about which we 
can only conjecture, and of whose actual being we 
have no conception. 

Whatever transcends man and does not directly be- 
long to his conscious ego, the nature and the operation 
and the power of eternal laws and forces which in- 
fluence him, we can confidently assume that while they 
rule him, he is through them nearly related to the 
eternal divine. 

Hence, we ought not to regard the divine in hu- 
miliation, weakness, awe and terror, as a power ex- 
ternal to us, but as that which is the best in us, which 
sustains and elevates us. 

If this once becomes our religion we might hope 
not only to convert the savage in the wilderness, but 
even the savage which dwells in us and enables us to 
mistrust, hate and kill our fellow man because he 
does not share our particular inherited spiritual theory, 
which as a rule exists more in externalities than in 
inner conviction. 

When once the whole of humanity arrives at this 
conception, that the divine principle, however differ- 
ent it may have seemed to different peoples in differ- 
ent times, has always been the product of their own 
fancy and their own ego in its highest potentiality, 
they would cease to war about this phantasy and all 
unite on the divine principle which lives in us and is 
our own. 



Realistic Dualism 65 

When this takes place man will honor man for his 
high and good qualities, wherever he lives, whatever 
he does, whatever he thinks, and from whatever race 
and people he may be. A higher religion we do not 
know and will never learn. 



REALISTIC DUALISM. 

Regarding some of the questions mentioned in the 
preceding chapter the reader can find in the book, 
" Ernst Haeckel, die Weltraethsel," or the great 
" World Enigmas," solutions based upon the latest 
scientific investigations. 

This book treats upon such "simple " questions as : 

" Our life, our existence in the embryo, the es- 
sence of the soul, embryonic history of the soul, cog- 
nition of the soul, immortality of the soul, evolution of 
the world, God and the world, solution of the world 
enigmas, etc." 

All these questions are treated from the point of 
view of what may be cognizable through the senses, 
and the book solves them in a manner satisfactory to 
its author. 

Minor " world enigmas," probably being beneath 
the author's notice, are not paid any attention to. 

Such questions, f. i., as the manner in which we 
breathe, sleep and di earn ; eat, drink and digest ; speak, 
read and write ; in which the tongue moves for breath- 
ing, speaking, singing, etc.; in which we walk, for- 
ward, backward; in which we sit down, rise and lie 



66 Duality of Thought and Language 

down; in which we ascend and descend; in which 
our arm, our hand and the fingers move; in which 
we see, taste, feel, hear and smell ; in which we cough, 
sneeze, yawn, laugh and weep; in which we frown 
and smile; in which the eyebrows rise and fall, the 
lips tremble, etc., and hundreds of other similar ques- 
tions, quite aside of such distant ones as our inclina- 
tions, sensations, feelings; our ability to think and 
speak, and many others in which our entire nature is 
involved and which we are constantly called upon to 
exercise. 

Such questions also remain unanswered of how 
our hair and nails grow ; how and from what they 
originate; how our skin constantly changes and is as 
constantly being renewed; how wounds, and be it 
but the slightest cut, quite apart of heart's wounds, 
heal again ; how we know and recognize one another ; 
how we grasp each other's hands and kiss one another ; 
how we attract and repel, love or hate one another; 
not to mention the relations of the sexes, birth and re- 
production. Such " remote questions " also receive no 
attention, of how a spire of grass grows ; how the seed 
is converted into the plant, the flower into the fruit, 
and a thousand other " natural " things, which no son 
of man has ever come near unto solving. 

Meanwhile the " simple " questions of the "world 
enigmas " are being solved with "logic clearness " and 
inner satisfaction. In the solution of these " simple " 
questions, no simple expressions are used. I have 
already called attention to a similar state of affairs in 
connection with Mr. Lunn's attempt at solving the 
question of vocal utterance. 



Realistic Dualism 67 

In Prof. Haeckel's book such expressions occur 
as the following: iEsthesis, Amphimixis, Anangke, 
Athenismus, and thus it continues on throughout the 
entire alphabet. 

The wisest man that has ever lived, and whose 
teachings still find an echo in every heart, never used 
any extraordinary phrases, but could find expression 
for all he wished to convey in the simplest terms. 

We are starving for bread and they give us these 
stones of science. 

These men delve into all things of a distant nature 
and have no use for what is nearest to us and con- 
cerns us most. In their inability to comprehend nature 
they once more revert to speculative metaphysics. This 
time into " material metaphysics," from which we can 
gain as little for our " daily bread " as we could hereto- 
fore from the study of any similar purely spiritual con- 
ceptions. As metaphysics heretofore reached out too far 
into speculation as to spiritual issues, this modern 
metaphysics reaches out too far into speculation as to 
material issues. 

These studies may have a certain right to exist, a 
" raison d'etre," from a strictly scientific point of 
view, but no good has ever been deduced from the 
same for the benefit and welfare of mankind. 

Wer will was Lebendiges erkennen und beschreiben, 
Sucht erst den Geist herauszutreiben, 
Dann hat er die Theile in seiner Hand. 
Fehlt leider nur das geistige Band. — Goethe. 

There is something comedian or carnival-like in 
all this. They " make up " in a heroic manner, and 



68 Duality of Thought and Language 

finally unmask again without having accomplished 
anything of any inner value. 

Amiel says: "Science is a lucid madness occupied 
in tabulating its own hallucinations." 

The great naturalist and thinker, Ernst Haeckel, 
is honest enough to acknowledge this fact in making 
the following declaration at the end of his work : " We 
do not hesitate to say that, in regard to the inner 
working of nature, we have not to-day reached a 
standpoint which brings us any nearer to it than the 
one occupied by Anaximander and Empedocles, 
twenty-four hundred years ago ; and it is as foreign to 
us and we are as much perplexed and in the dark in 
regard to it, almost, as they were." 

I want to quote just one other sentence from this 
celebrated work : " The old world view, with its mystic 
and anthropomorphic ideas, is sinking into ruins; but 
above this field of ruins rises high and majestic the 
new sun of our Realistic-Monism, which opens up to 
us the wonderful temple of nature, etc." 

It requires but the change of a single word in the 
preceding for us to stand face to face with a higher, 
a greater and a truer view of nature and of the uni- 
verse ; namely, the change of the word " Realistic- 
Monism " into that of " Realistic-Dualism." That is 
the only conception which can unlock to us the com- 
prehension of the inner view of nature so unalterably 
closed to us up to this time. 

From a philosophic standpoint, that is, from one 
capable of overlooking a diverse subject as a whole, it 
is for me sufficiently clear that the endeavor of science 
to penetrate into the mystery of life from the point 



Realistic Dualism 69 

of view of the observation of ex parte phenomena, is, 
and forever will be, futile. For this reason : 

In making an effort to penetrate into the inner 
nature of our being, it is above all things necessary to 
view body and mind as correlatively related. The 
realistic-monistic mode of operation, however, is an 
attempt to solve questions of a spiritual nature (which 
to a very large extent relate to man alone), by trying 
to bring certain subtle material parts, more particu- 
larly in animals, into relation with spiritual issues. 

I have shown the futility of such an endeavor in 
connection with the human voice; and all similar at- 
tempts made from the same narrow standpoint must 
also fail to be finally successful. In these endeavors the 
spirit is not taken any account of as a factor per se, 
but is viewed rather as an outcome of material parts, 
more particularly of those forming part of the ner- 
vous system and in connection with the brain. 

It will not be denied that it would be impossible to 
establish anything of importance regarding our spirit- 
ual life by questioning the body alone in this respect ; 
nor will it be denied that it is the spirit, which ani- 
mates the body, that we must consult, to be able to 
obtain any solution whatever regarding the relation 
existing between body and mind. 

I would have been as helpless as anyone else, if 
the accidental discovery of the oesophagus as an in- 
tegral part in the exercise of speech, had not pointed 
out to me the fact that to definite parts of the body are 
assigned respectively the production of real and ideal 
parts of speech. 

Thus the relation existing between body and mind 



70 Duality of Thought and Language 

was established in regard to the exercise of vocal ut- 
terance. This gave me a positive hold, from which 
a start could be made for the further penetration into 
similar heretofore unsolvable questions. 

It will be seen from this that in place of making 
the body a basis for my investigations, I have made 
the soul such a basis; the soul as it reveals itself in 
speech. Speech being the outcome of a correlative 
action as between body and mind, or a translation of 
the spiritual thought into the material sound of the 
voice, the study of its essence offers every opportunity, 
and probably the only opportunity, for man to pene- 
trate into the correlative relation existing between 
body and mind. 

I have observed the " living speech " as it emanates 
from us, and have obtained more knowledge from its 
study than it will, under the best of circumstances, 
be possible for me to properly communicate to others 
during the few years still remaining to me. I have 
looked into my inner being while making my investi- 
gations in place of looking externally, and this consti- 
tutes the entire difference. 

The further pursuit of these matters, it seems to 
me, will enable man to eventually penetrate into every 
relation existing between body and mind. It will even 
permit us to enter with an approximate degree of 
lucidity upon the contemplation of such questions as 
the condition of the soul before its union with the 
body, and of its state and condition after their final 
separation. 

This knowledge will not assist, however, as far as 
I can see, to clear up the mystery of the relation exist- 



Realistic Dualism 



7i 



ing between the creator and the creature, God and 
man. I have not made any attempt in that direction, 
nor does it appear to me possible for man, limited as 
he is to this body and this earth, to ever gain any posi- 
tive knowledge regarding this relationship. 

Supposing a watch to be gifted with a spirit pro- 
portionate to its limitations, would it not be a rash 
endeavor on its part to brood over the relation existing 
between it and its author, the watchmaker, not to 
speak of its presumption in trying to form an idea of 
the inner nature of the watchmaker? 




THE TRUE CONCEPTION OF MY TASK. 



A CRITICISM of my work, "Duality of Voice," 
from the same real-monistic standpoint of the 
modern natural-scientific investigation has appeared in 
the Berlin "Journal of the International Musical Asso- 
ciation," Vol. IV, No. 4, which is published under the 
editorial auspices of Professor Oscar Fleischer. It be- 
gins by saying, "The performances of the author are 
such as to simply make a person's, educated in natural 
science, hair stand on end." To pay more particular 
attention to this critic's animadversions would be but 
to repeat the answers which have been given the other 
reviewers who travel the same path in the same way. 
My reviewer has read my book most superficially, 
or he would not have constantly remained on the sur- 
face only, but would have at least, at times, entered 
a little more deeply into its real meaning. With other 
zoologists he holds fast to " phenomena." But the 
human voice is an expression of our inmost being, 
and ever behind it lie physio-psychical causes. With 
such things zoology does not trouble itself. Neverthe- 
less, the above-mentioned Journal has assigned the 
task cf passing upon my investigations to a man 

72 



The True Conception of My Task 73 

" trained in natural science." The result is shown by 
the thoroughly worthless judgment. 

A physician or surgeon whose diagnosis rests upon 
false premises can only make matters worse by his 
treatment. There is no end of this trouble in matters 
of the voice. 

"Unto the spirit's wings, alas, no wings material 
can be added," Goethe says. And yet it happens that 
wings material are added to wings spiritual, just in 
these studies that have to do with the inmost being of 
vocal utterance, that " mirror of the soul." 

I fear that in the matter of depth of spiritual 
conception I have unduly exalted the Germans over 
the Anglo-Saxons, for there as here the same phe- 
nomena appear. It is due principally to the entire 
intellectual direction of our time, which finds a repre- 
sentative in my Berlin critic, and is a direct result of 
the materialistic conceptions of modern science. So 
far has this tendency been carried of late that even 
music and with it the " voice divine " have been forced 
into the maw of this all-devouring science. 

What the above-mentioned critic has urged against 
me, I believe to have sufficiently answered in treating 
of similar objections. (See Appendix to this book.) 

Only one thing deserves mention, namely, his 
satiric attempt to make it appear ridiculous that I 
expressed myself so " naively " as to my insufficiency 
to handle such questions as I tried to. Even my 
friend Schneider in his introduction to the German 
edition of " Duality of Voice " says : " On the other 
hand there stand in contradistinction to the places 
mentioned, a considerable number of other passages 



74 Duality of Thought and Language 

where the author exhibits an extremely modest con- 
ception of his task." Against these insinuations I 
must defend myself. In relation to what I have dis- 
covered, tested from a thousand different directions 
and found ever true, I do not take a modest attitude. 
I have furnished the mathematical demonstration of 
the correctness of my obervations, for, starting not 
alone from the principles discovered, but from a hun- 
dred points, different from one another and unlike, I 
have always come back to the same principles as fun- 
damental for the conception of the whole range of vo- 
cal expression. These principles stand firm as Gibral- 
tar and will never be shaken. 

Thanks to the proper comprehension of these prin- 
ciples it has been possible for me to batter a breach 
in the hitherto impassable wall of our spiritual being, 
by making a beginning in the knowledge of things 
hitherto regarded as unknowable. This " beginning " 
will give a new direction to the whole substance of 
the more or less speculative physiology and psychol- 
ogy of the present age, and will give these sciences a 
firm ground on which to build and develop in a safer 
manner than heretofore. 

Although my discoveries seem important when 
taken in relation to the comparatively vague and sub- 
ordinate position held by the mental sciences up to 
this time, I am too deeply convinced of the insuf- 
ficiency of the human mind to press into the core of 
the fundamental questions of nature, and of the 
mystery that surrounds us, not to recognize myself a 
mere atom in the universe. An atom that cannot and 
dares not forget for a single instant its own insig- 



The Voice of the (Esophagus 75 

nificance and impotency, though it were an Aristotle, 
a Copernicus, a Galileo, a Newton, a Darwin, or a 
Helmholtz. Therein and only therein consists the 
" extremely modest conception of my task." 



THE VOICE OF THE (ESOPHAGUS. 

Let me add a few additional observations on the 
" voice of the oesophagus." 

I do not take credit for the discovery of it, for I 
am indebted for that to a mere chance that happened 
during the course of my experiments. But what I do 
take credit for is the fact that I at once recognized the 
meaning of this " chance," though not by far in its 
full significance, and have ever since been continually 
busy in working it out towards its conclusions. 

If we assume, what undoubtedly is the case, and 
which I know from my own experience, namely, that 
in all things nature has a positive and a negative, an 
active and a passive, a spiritual and a material aspect, 
it will easily be seen that an invaluable discovery has 
been made in the recognition of the voice of the 
oesophagus as the negative, passive, material factor 
of vocal expression, and consequently of the realm of 
our soul and thought. 

The purely spiritual factor lies too far beyond our 
ken to enable us to get possession of it all by itself; 
for the immaterial can only be perceived in connection 
with the material. Nevertheless, in the voice of the 
oesophagus I have discovered a bridge which leads 
from that which is patent to the senses over to the 



76 Duality of Thought and Language 

purely spiritual through the correlative connection 
and the unity which exists between these factors. 
Through the recognition of this fact we advance an 
appreciable distance nearer the secret of life ; for here 
for the first time we get light on the mediating link 
that connects spirit and matter. Without a knowl- 
edge of such a connecting link all our knowledge of 
the inner being of our nature and its potentialities re- 
mains one-sided and lacking in all inner consistency. 

The cause of our previous exclusion from a knowl- 
edge of the inner motivation of our spiritual being 
was the fact that in seeking it men always looked 
outward as if in search for the nature of material phe- 
nomena, while we will never be in the position to 
know it till we are able to see into the spiritual treas- 
ure stored up in our own individual ego. 

If I have been able to cast a look, no matter how 
limited, into the workings of spiritual forces, I have 
to thank the accident which revealed to me the voice 
of the oesophagus — a discovery which, viewed in 
the proper light, will be called the greatest physio- 
psychological discovery ever made. The debated 
question between monism and dualism will here find 
its solution. The correlative relation which exists be- 
tween soul and body, rightly viewed, must give the 
key. 

While in the confines of mechanics, physics, and 
chemistry we are continually told of wonder upon 
wonder, and the progress knows no end, in the field 
of the knowledge of our own capabilities, our powers 
of thought, our inner being and existence, in short, 
our soul-life, which alone brings those physical won- 



Man's Dual Nature 77 

ders to light, we stand to-day almost exactly in the 
same place where we stood thousands of years ago. 
While we press outward with enlightening search in 
nearly every possible direction, we ourselves remain 
the same unsolvable riddle. There must be, however, 
ways and means by which we will be enabled to press 
to the bottom of these secrets. Only a beginning 
need be made, only a breach in the hitherto impassable 
wall, and that, be it said with all due humility, I have 
done in these studies. 

As far as language is concerned, the bridge of 
which I have spoken leads us from the inner being 
of such words as denote things that are perceptible 
through the senses, to such as present abstract concep- 
tions. In the vocal expression of such words (the seat 
of the former kind being in the abdomen and of the 
latter in the thorax) an entirely different tone is used, 
which may be perceived even by an untrained ear. 

But when I treat of this subject I am anticipating 
what is to be set out fully later. 



MAN'S DUAL NATURE. 

When I first commenced to write upon these sub- 
jects it never occurred to me to enter upon so vast an 
undertaking as that of " man's dual nature." I was 
inadvertently drawn into it. The study of the voice 
led on to that of the essence of language, voice and 
language being intimately connected and interwoven. 

Considering that language in either its vocal or 
written form is the medium which conveys our 



78 Duality of Thought and Language 

thoughts to others and theirs to us, it stands for 
all that constitutes our spiritual life; considering, 
further, that our spiritual life is intimately connected 
with our material life, it would seem that, if we were 
able to fully explain the phenomena of speech, we 
would, in so doing, be able to explain to some extent 
both spiritual and vital phenomena. 

Speech is the outcome of material and spiritual 
factors. There is nothing in our composition or in 
connection therewith that so fully represents our dual 
nature. It is not only the representation, however, 
but at the same time the outcome of every agency at 
the bottom of and influencing our existence. Speech 
is spiritual by the thought which underlies it, material 
through the sounds in which this thought is clad. 
Hence it is spiritual-material, and in consequence 
offers a basis for investigation into our dual nature 
not possessed by any of our other faculties or func- 
tions. 

It has been said, " I think, hence I exist." The 
corollaries to this are, " I exist, hence I live." " I 
speak hence I think and live." " I speak English, 
hence I think and live like an Englishman." " I exer- 
cise my faculties and functions in the manner in 
which an Englishman exercises them; in which he 
produces his works of art which are of the ' Eng- 
lish school ' ; his literary works which are in the 
' English style ' ; his handicraft whose products are of 
' English make.' " 

Belonging to the English race, all his acts and 
performances are of the order of that race. While 
all men are alike anatomically, they differ in respect 



Mans Dual Nature 79 

to the manner in which their anatomy is set in motion 
for the production of their idiomatic expression, for 
the outcome of their artistic, literary and other work. 
I speak English, hence I am an Englishman or an 
American — in fact, an Anglo-Saxon. I belong to the 
Anglo-Saxon race. Or I speak German, hence I live 
and think like a German, etc. I belong to the Ger- 
manic race. 

There are race distinctions of another order, of 
course; but as far as nationality is concerned, the 
drift of a person's spiritual and physical being, its 
dominating influence, is language. Every other in- 
fluence, excepting that of heredity, is subordinate to 
this. 

The influence exercised by heredity is of a differ- 
ent order and affects individuals only. The influence 
of language creates races and nations. 

A person who speaks two or more languages idio- 
matically correct combines within himself the char- 
acteristics of the peoples whose language he speaks. 

If language is capable of communicating our 
thoughts to others, and in so doing making others 
participators with us in our spirit, does it not seem 
logical to assume that if we should succeed in tracing 
the modus operandi in which this is done we would 
be able to reach the very fountainhead of our spiritual 
existence? 

This is not a fantastic or exaggerated view, but 
one based on experience in connection with tracing 
vocal sounds and words to their origin. 

Language, consequently as such, can be made a 
basis from which we could penetrate into the mystery 



8o Duality of Thought and Language 

of life. It is the only basis, apparently, from which 
this can be done successfully. To spin metaphysical 
systems out of one's head, unsustained by scientific 
facts, no matter how great the mind, how deep the 
insight, is not apt to lead to results which will be 
acceptable as true by all. If philosophers would, in- 
stead, affiliate themselves with the woof and weaf out 
of which language is woven, they might reach such 
positive conclusions regarding our nature as the world 
has looked forward to ever since man has begun to 
think. 

We cannot deduce facts from philosophy, but we 
can deduce a true system of philosophy from facts, 
as they obtain in the voice, when it embodies the corre- 
lation of matter and mind in speech ; that is, when we 
can trace the sounds of speech to their material and 
spiritual origin. 



SUBCONSCIOUS LANGUAGE. 

I must take the material current of thought of the 
day in matters of the spirit by the horns and stop it 
in its mad career towards an aimless aim. 

What an undertaking ! Yet it must be attempted. 
The path before me is open, broad and clear, while 
that of the present psychology and physiology is tor- 
tuous, intricate and obscure and leads to nowhere. 
Why should not I succeed? It is a new education. 
Others must be taught to see as I do ; many, no doubt, 
more highly gifted, will then be able to see further 
than I have been able to do. This world of ours will 



Subconscious Language 81 

become luminous with the light of lights, which is of 
the spirit, or the spiritual. This light has always 
existed. It has illumined all things but itself. We 
could not see this light of the spirit because we are 
the spirit. We could not see ourselves. It could not 
be apprehended because the mirror was wanting in 
which we could see its image reflected. That mirror 
is the conscious reflecting the subconscious; the ap- 
parent, the temporal, reflecting the real, the con- 
tinuous ; the phenomenon reflecting the noumenon. All 
our dealings are with the former; it is our world, yet 
we are rooted in the latter, without which the former 
could not exist. The temporal, the apparent, borrows 
such light as it possesses from the continuous, the 
real. 

As our nights are illumined by the reflected light 
which the moon borrows from the sun, the latter being 
unseen, so are our lives lightened by the reflected light 
from the subconscious, which again, it appears to 
me, borrows its light from higher unseen sources. 
We must deal with the subconscious, with that which 
is beneath the surface, with the root, the principle of 
a matter, if we want to get at its true nature. There 
is no action of life of which we become cognizant 
which has not its first source in the subconscious. 

During introspection the subconscious becomes the 
conscious, the conscious the subconscious. The 
former, which in our ordinary existence is the anode, 
becomes the cathode; the latter, which is the cathode, 
becomes the anode. The apparently real world for 
the time being recedes, and we live in a spiritual 
world, being cause to effect. Hence the truth can be 



82 Duality of Thought and Language 

ascertained only, as far as mortals are at all capable 
of knowing it, when the spiritual within us comes to 
the surface and in so doing is " materialized," so to 
say, and thus becomes amenable to our consciousness. 

Henceforth the spirit must be taught to see itself, 
to analyze itself, and the influence which it exercises 
in and over ourselves. The spirit which enables us 
to live, and will, and do, and communicate with others 
by word of mouth or of pen, which mediates between 
us and the world, the past, the present and the future ; 
the spirit which presides over the thought expressed 
in this writing and permits my psyche to communicate 
with and enter the psyche of the reader. 

The duality called speech is composed of vocal 
sounds as its material factor and thought as its spirit- 
ual. It is the only means at our disposal by which 
we can penetrate into the realm of the spirit; its ma- 
terial factor, vocal sound, permitting us to study its 
relation to thought, zvhich is the spirit. 

I did not go about this business of penetrating 
into the spirit of language in a deliberate manner and 
with purpose aforethought, but it came to me by my 
necessities. I have explained several times before 
that it was by attempting to arrive at the essential 
differences in the production of two such hetero- 
geneous languages as the German and the English that 
these studies originated. They clashed at every point, 
and this gave me the opportunity of making my ob- 
servations, which resulted in not only arriving at 
special laws regarding these respective languages, but 
also at general laws underlying the production of all 
languages. Among other things I arrived at the 



Subconscious Language 83 

extraordinary and remarkable fact that all languages, 
the same as every impression obtained through the 
eyesight, are at bottom the same; that their spiritual 
conception, that is, the subconscious or substructure, 
is of the same order, though their superstructure, 
which is of the body and the spirit combined, varies 
with all. Hence we speak of the " republic of let- 
ters," which is of the spirit and embraces all man- 
kind, though it is composed of various nations and 
tongues, which are very unlike in their outward ap- 
pearance and utterance. 

If this were not really the case we would never be 
able to comprehend any language but our own. The 
foreign word would be eternally foreign, incompre- 
hensible. No flight of the imagination would be able 
to make us comprehend that it would be possible to 
learn an entire foreign language by heart, unless every 
word thereof had a representative factor within us, 
coinciding with the word representing the same idea 
in our own language. If, in the place of using letters 
to represent a word, like the Chinese we had signs 
expressive of an idea, our writing could be read at 
once by every nationality using the same signs. For, 
after all, it is the idea represented by a word, not the 
word as such, which is a living factor. 

This has already been partly explained (see page 
180, etc., of " Duality of Voice ") and will receive 
further elucidation hereafter. I here merely want to 
make a remark in this connection regarding the pre- 
dominance of the spirit and our belief in a future life. 
If speech is the same with all peoples in its subcon- 
scious utterance, which is of a subtler nature than 



84 Duality of Thought and Language 

anything we can become conscious of in a superficial 
manner through the ear, although it can and will be 
demonstrated that it exists as intonation, and that 
speech cannot be audibly uttered unless this subcon- 
scious element pervades it ; I say, if this is the case, if 
there is a spiritual language which is the original 
motive power of speech with all peoples alike, would 
not that go far towards demonstrating the truth of 
the concept that the soul is the positive factor pre- 
siding over our existence, whose negative is the body, 
yet beyond our sensible conscious conception? Must 
it not also be assumed that if there is a life for the 
soul of the hereafter and an intercommunication of 
the spirits therein, that there must be a medium in 
the shape of a language all can understand ? A Vola- 
puk of the spheres? Thought communicating with 
thought. Considering that language on this earth, 
going back but a few centuries, is of an endless variety, 
intercommunication among the departed would be 
impossible, unless there be a spirit-language used by 
and comprehended by all. 

This spiritual conception and utterance already 
exists, as stated, on this earth unconsciously with all 
mortals alike; it expresses the thought through the 
" intonation " of the word apart from the word's in- 
corporation in the sounds of speech. 

We cannot become conscious of the meaning of 
this spiritual language, because we are incapable of 
comprehending the true nature of anything purely 
spiritual, pure spirituality belonging to a sphere be- 
yond our sphere. Owing to this fact we cannot have 
communication with the departed, nor they with us. 



Subconscious Language 85 

If we were able to express our thoughts in the sub- 
conscious or spirit-language, which we now use in 
connection with our conscious language, it seems to 
me we might be able to communicate with the spirits 
of the departed. 

The fact that the spiritual undercurrent is precisely 
the same for all languages appears to me of great 
psychological importance. It has assisted me more 
than anything else in the correct pronunciation of the 
English language, and will, if once properly under- 
stood, assist scholars in every land learning to cor- 
rectly pronounce other tongues in addition to their 
own. No book or teacher can teach this as we 
can teach it to ourselves ; nor will it be possible 
by mere " imitation " to ever attain the same 
result. 

When I want to ascertain the correct pronunciation 
of a word, say, in English, French or Italian, I utter 
the word, not aloud, but mentally, spiritually, by 
vividly thinking it, in my native tongue; from this 
spiritual form I can at once elucidate the correspond- 
ing word and speak it correctly aloud in any other 
language that I am at all familiar with. German 
being my native tongue, and hence the language which 
I always speak idiomatically correct, I thus think of 
the word in German. Without the slightest hesitation, 
like a flash, I can then utter the corresponding word 
of another language idiomatically correct, no matter 
how different it may be in its spelling or construction. 
This fact, however, naturally applies only to such lan- 
guages as one is already familiar with in their general 
character, at least. I can in this wise pronounce the 



86 Duality of Thought and Language 

foreign word correctly without any apparent change 
in the vocal organs taking place. 

With words which are in dispute as to their cor- 
rect pronunciation, in the English language, for in- 
stance, which on account of its composite character 
occurs more frequently than with any other language, 
I can thus, almost without hesitation, determine the 
correct mode of pronunciation. When I am not sure 
as to the correct intonation of a foreign word I always 
resort to this mode of ascertaining it and very seldom 
fail in hitting upon the correct utterance. It must be 
upon the basis of this fact that Mr. Alexander Mel- 
ville Bell was able to build up his system of " Visible 
Speech," which embraces all languages. 

Thus the subconscious language, which is of the 
mind, predominates over and rules the conscious 
language, which is of the body, and is of such a differ- 
ent nature with different peoples. When I say " of 
the mind," I mean, of course, that the mind predomi- 
nates over the body ; when I say " of the body," I 
mean that the body predominates over the mind. 

In all matters of which we become conscious body 
and spirit are in correlation, and it must be assumed 
that in all such cases either material or spiritual fac- 
tors predominate, as neither the ones nor the others 
ever act exclusively by themselves. 

Speaking of " correct " pronunciation or orthoepy, 
a question of considerable importance with Anglo- 
Saxons, as regards their language, I should like to 
know who determines and what determines what is 
correct and false in regard to the same. In most 
other languages, not interlarded with so many foreign 



The Thing as Such 87 

words, the pronunciation is " natural " with the people 
and but seldom in dispute. With Anglo-Saxons it is 
a question of " usage " among the best people ; but 
the question is never raised " what principles underlie 
this usage by the ' best people/ what is it based on ?" 
I say it is based on the subconscious intonation, per- 
vading all languages, which in its " special expres- 
sion " is made to conform to the physical instrument 
of every separate nationality. It is by no means arbi- 
trary with the " best people," but they instinctively 
feel what the subconscious expression of a word is 
and regulate their speech accordingly. If this were 
not the case such expression or pronunciation could 
never become the same with all the different members 
of a nation. 



THE THING AS SUCH. "DAS DING AN 
SIGH." 

Thus the spiritual import of the word in its sub- 
conscious relation determines its intonation and in 
connection with the body its pronunciation for every 
separate language. 

Now what, in fact, is the word ? It is not a thing 
belonging to us, nor is it something inherent in an 
object, either concrete or abstract. It is not a thing 
that emanates from our understanding, nor is it a 
direct outcome of our will. 

Upon closely examining it, it seems to be unsub- 
stantial, a mere shadow, a phantom. 



88 Duality of Thought and Language 

Yet this shadow, which is neither subjective nor 
objective, has the power to mediate between me and 
the world, to make me part of the world and to make 
the world part of myself. 

The word assumes the title of everything we be- 
come cognizant of. It takes its place. It assigns a 
status and a condition to all things. The mere per- 
ception or cognition of things would not suffice to 
make the thought thereof amenable to us and to 
others. But for the word, perception and cognition 
would remain vague and shadowy. The word puts 
a stamp upon them and the things they represent, 
which makes them pass current the world over, not 
only the world of the present, but in its written or 
printed form also that of the past and the future. 

The word is neither in time nor space; yet it de- 
termines both time and space in relation to the world 
and ourselves. 

All things may exist and probably do exist quite 
apart from ourselves ; yet unless we become cognizant 
of them, either directly or indirectly, they have no 
established existence for us. Hence, for their right- 
ful existence it is necessary that there should be an 
object not only, but also a subject that can recognize 
them. If it takes two separate factors, however, an 
object and a subject, to give a thing a standing as such, 
there must be something that mediates between them to 
facilitate this conciliation and make it possible. 

This something takes away a part from both sub- 
ject and object and unites them in itself. Now, what 
is that which is taking away a part from both subject 
and object, without really reducing the entity of either, 



The Thing as Such 89 

yet in so doing mediates between the two ? That thing 
is the word, which for all practical purposes is " the 
thing itself." Through the word we can bring all 
things far and near, concrete and abstract, within our 
reach and the compass of our knowledge. Without 
the word we would be lost; we could neither ex- 
press our thought or communicate it. It is our 
anchor and stay in this world of appearances. The 
congenital deaf lack but the " word " to comprehend 
as others do. As soon as Helen Keller, or any other 
congenital deaf and blind person, became cognizant 
of words their spirit commenced to expand, while 
previous to that time their mind was beclouded, al- 
most as much so as a dumb beast's. It is generally 
conceded to be a greater misfortune to be born deaf 
than blind. To be born deaf means the blindness of 
the soul through the absence of the " word," which 
unites the outer world with the inner and the inner 
with the outer. 

The word, while both giving and taking, yet still 
leaving both subject and object intact, itself also re- 
mains intact. It never changes its own status. It al- 
ways was and always will be; its form may change, 
but its inner being remains the same. 

A word stands for a thing, no matter what order it 
may belong to, though, itself, is not the thing it repre- 
sents, or which we become cognizant of. Yet stand- 
ing for the thing, it mediates between us and it, and 
in so doing is the thing itself as far as we are con- 
cerned; for without it there would be neither subject 
nor object to recognize or to be recognized. 

Now, as a matter of fact, the word is really part of 



90 Duality of Thought and Lauguage 

ourselves, and also part of the object it represents. It 
is both, inherent in us and in it. 

Of this fact I shall have further proof to offer. 
The word at bottom is universal, though with differ- 
ent peoples it is couched in different forms. The 
thought, or idea, being universal, its representative, 
the word, must be. I have attempted to ascertain 
what mediates between the thought and the word, so 
as to give currency to the latter in all the different 
forms of language among all the different nations. 
This idea has naturally led me on to attempt to de- 
termine what mediates between subject and object. 
I feel confident that the answer is, the word; that the 
riddle which Kant has given the world to solve, under 
the phantasmal expression of the " thing as such," and 
which philosophy ever since has endeavored to give 
a comprehensible form to, as a matter of fact, is what 
is represented by the " word." 

By penetrating into the true essence of the word 
I have learned that it connects our inner being with 
our "outer, our subconscious with our conscious. Cut 
this connecting link of the word, and with all the 
physical machinery of our faculties perfectly sound, 
we are hampered in their exercise in every direction. 
We think in words. They give the abstract conception 
a concrete form. Hence the concentration of our 
spiritual cognition into the material form of a word 
is the connecting link between mind and matter. The 
word mediates between the soul and the mind (the 
subconscious and the conscious), and the result is 
recognition, comprehension, understanding. 

Speculative philosophy in its metaphysical endeav- 



Material — Immaterial 9 1 

ors has wound a coil, serpentinelike, around and 
around this truth without having ever been able to 
penetrate into it. 



MATERIAL— IMMATERIAL. 

We distinguish as between things material and 
things immaterial in conformity with our ability to 
recognize them through our senses or to not thus 
recognize them, but to become cognizant of them in 
a spiritual way. 

This is the main division we make as between all 
things of whatsoever origin or nature. 

It has not been heretofore given to us to recognize 
the true nature of things immaterial except in the way 
of their relation to other things, either spiritual or 
material. Incidental to the discovery of the voice of 
the oesophagus, however, it will hereafter become 
possible to recognize the nature of things spiritual 
also in a direct manner, that is, regardless of their 
relation to other spiritual or material things. 

As in language we find expression for all things 
that come within the scope of our knowledge, I call 
words representative of things recognizable through 
our senses, material; words representing things not 
thus recognizable I call spiritual. As words repre- 
sent substances and ideas, or things concrete and ab- 
stract, I consequently call the former material, the 
latter immaterial or spiritual. 

Now, it is a remarkable fact, never before noticed, 
that this difference is represented by a demarcation line 



92 Duality of Thought and Language 

of the most decided character in the production of 
these two great classes of words ; and that the sound 
of the words belonging to these classes is also of a 
decided different character. 

The division as between material and immaterial 
finds expression in the sphere of our body in such 
a manner that all things material are represented by 
the hemisphere of the abdomen, all things immaterial 
by that of the thorax. 

Of all the startling discoveries I have made, I was 
confronted with this one as the most startling; the 
most startling, perhaps, of any that has ever been 
made within the entire radius of our human experi- 
ence. 

The diaphragm in dividing thorax and abdomen, 
at the same time divides all that is material and im- 
material, physical and spiritual in our composition. 
To simply call attention to this fact, even without 
proving it, would suffice to at once recommend it to 
our understanding. 

The " breast " is always spoken of and thought of 
in conjunction with things spiritual, the abdomen 
with things material. That they should be the " seat," 
however, the " abode " from whence these respective 
representations or spiritual elements in the shape of 
words emanate has never been stated. I shall offer 
incontrovertible proof in great abundance to sustain 
this assertion. 

I ascertained this all-important fact during my en- 
deavor at pursuing from my German standpoint the 
mystery of the " idiomatic " expression of the English 
language, commonly called " pronunciation." The 



Material — Immaterial 93 

word " pronunciation," usually used in this sense, even 
in our best dictionaries, is improperly defined. The 
Standard has this : 

Pronunciation : The act or manner of pronouncing 
words or syllables ; used absolutely for correct pro- 
nunciation, as "to acquire the French pronuncia- 
tion/' 

The very word " pronunciation " is in dispute as 
to the correct manner of pronouncing it, and so are 
a great many other words in the English language. 
There is no dispute, however, as to the " idiomatic 
expression." All native-born persons utter every 
word in their language " idiomatically " correct ; they 
cannot help doing so, no matter what their pronuncia- 
tion may be. Not so with foreigners; though they 
may pronounce words " grammatically " correct, they 
never utter them " idiomatically " correct. They al- 
ways speak a foreign language with an " accent." 

In therefore saying, as the " Standard " does : 
Pronunciation is used absolutely for correct pronun- 
ciation, as " to acquire the French pronunciation/' is 
an explanation that does not explain, as it tries to 
hit off two ideas, different and apart, as one and the 
same. 

An Englishman after acquiring the French pro- 
nunciation will still pronounce French with an English 
accent; he will not speak it idiomatically correct. 

This distinction must be prominently borne in mind 
in connection with these studies. The Englishman 
acquires the physical habit, the dress of the French 
language, in his pronunciation, its soul he cannot 
acquire. 



94 Duality of Thought and Language 

I have entered into the soul of language, and in 
so doing have inadvertently entered into the soul of 
man. 

We speak of the " soul " as something apart, al- 
most outside and beyond us, as something mysterious 
that we may never know. We shudder at the thought 
of ghosts or souls apart from their bodies entering 
our presence. Yet the soul enters our presence and 
communes with us, or through us with others in 
every word we utter or hear others utter. 

In entering into the soul of language I have ascer- 
tained facts, which, when properly understood, will 
enable us to become possessed of the soul, or idiomatic 
expression, of every foreign language. They will at 
the same time enable us to give every word in our 
own as well as in foreign languages its true intona- 
tion. As classes of words emanate from various parts 
of the body in conformity with their meaning, or the 
idea they represent, we can learn their proper intona- 
tion for speech and song by closely watching the 
manner of their production. 

There is no other way in which this can be done 
scientifically or knowingly; though there still remains, 
of course, the way of producing speech and song in- 
stinctively, or in conformity with our hearing; that, 
however, it must be admitted, is a very unreliable 
guide for artistic speech production. 

Before discovering the fact that the hemispheres 
of the thorax and abdomen respectively represent im- 
material and material factors, I had previously ascer- 
tained, though in a somewhat vague manner (in fact, 
it was one of my first discoveries), that some vocal 



Material — Immaterial 95 

sounds belong to and emanate from the thorax, while 
others belong to and emanate from the abdomen. I 
finally succeeded in positively locating these sounds 
in the respective parts of the viscera in which they 
have their origin. I had also ascertained that sounds, 
as it appeared to me, passed through the diaphragm 
and came to the surface on its opposite side, in con- 
formity with the fact whether they emanated from 
the thorax or the abdomen. 

This was succeeded by the discovery that words 
passed through the diaphragm in a similar manner, 
and that those of a material order, or rather words 
representing things material, made their appear- 
ance on the upper surface, and words representing 
things spiritual on the lower surface of the dia- 
phragm. 

This was a very puzzling fact, as I could not compre- 
hend how words representing abstract ideas could 
come from the side of the abdomen and then pass into 
the thorax and come to the surface through the 
trachea; nor how words representing material ele- 
ments could come from the side of the thorax and 
then pass into the abdomen and come to the surface 
through the oesophagus. 

I finally ascertained that this apparent passage 
through the diaphragm was due to the fact that for 
the " composition of words " sounds make an im- 
pression on. the diaphragm in a similar manner in 
which for repousse work by striking with a pointed 
tool (by means of a hammer) against a metal plate 
a design is made on its reverse side. The tool thus 
used is the tip of the tongue, the hammer numerous 



96 Duality of Thought and Language 

spiritual and material agencies, and the metal plate 
the diaphragm, whose movements correspond with 
those of the tongue in an inverse manner, the im- 
pressions being made partly from above the upper 
and partly from below the lower side of the dia- 
phragm. 

It will thus be seen, that while the " picture " for 
a material word appears on the thoracical side of the 
diaphragm, the performance takes place on its ab- 
dominal side, and vice versa, for a word representing 
an immaterial idea, the " picture " appears on the 
abdominal side, while the act which produces it takes 
place on the thoracical side. 

This repousse work of ours, however, is of but 
momentary endurance, the impressions being obliter- 
ated almost as fast as they are made. The pressure 
of the air on its other side, owing to the redundancy 
of the elastic texture of the diaphragm, at once sends 
these impressions back to and, for a moment, beyond 
the surface on which they originated. This action 
following immediately upon the production of the 
various sounds of which a word is composed welds 
these sounds together into the word and gives more 
or less vigor to its component sounds as well as to 
its expression as a whole. 

It goes without saying that our repousse work is 
always artistic; artistic even when it emanates from 
low and vulgar sources; but that it advances in degree 
to the highest performance with the excellence of the 
source from which it emanates. It may be, and of 
course is, in many instances more mechanical than 
artistic, dull and unimpressive; and it may be flooded 



Material — Immaterial 97 

with light and its accompanying shade, stirring and 
soulful. 

It must also be understood that while the tip of 
the tongue is responsible for the production of sounds, 
the movements of the body of the tongue are instru- 
mental in the arrangement of the constellation of the 
word. This is a most remarkable and highly inter- 
esting observation. The tip of the tongue while act- 
ing in connection, at the same time, acts independent 
of its body; but never vice versa, the movements of 
the body of the tongue being always subservient to 
and in connection with those of its tip. In other 
words, the " body " of the tongue never acts inde- 
pendently by itself. While we can produce vocal sounds 
without words, we cannot produce words without vo- 
cal sounds. 

The production of vocal sounds by the tip of the 
tongue antecedes the movements of the body of the 
tongue for the composition of the word, in a similar 
manner that the founding of the types antecedes their 
use by the compositor for precisely the same purpose ; 
only that in the material-spiritual composition of a 
word the making of the types and the setting them up 
are transactions which are closely and intimately con- 
nected. 

The movements of the tip of the tongue and those 
of its body are correlated and of dual nature; the 
former representing the material and the latter the 
spiritual element of this duality. Sounds, as such, 
being of a material, the word representing a mean- 
ing, of a spiritual order. 

In the production of a simple (not articulate) 



98 Duality of Thought and Language 

sound the tongue's tip, while extended, assumes a 
vibrating motion, its body meanwhile remaining 
quiescent. 

For an articulate or vocal sound there is at once 
a movement of the body of the tongue in correlation 
with its tip. For the expression of words these move- 
ments assume a compass of the greatest variety. 

The reader may find difficulty in proving these 
assertions by making experiments with his own tongue. 
Personally I experience no such difficulty. Devotion 
to these matters for many years has placed me in 
possession of many things which cannot be attained 
in any other way. I can make any part of the tongue 
rigid and notice the consequences. A perfect proof 
of the correctness of these statements can also be 
found in the fact that upon making the diaphragm 
rigid I can continue to freely utter simple sounds, but 
cannot utter words representing a spiritual meaning, 
while I can utter words devoid of meaning ; that is to 
say, when I attempt to utter words of a capricious and 
meaningless composition. 

It appears to me that the ability to utter simple 
sounds and to speak by their aid is done by means of 
a rupture as between the conscious and the subcon- 
scious. Such a condition, it seems to me, offers greater 
advantages than any other for the arrival at a proper 
insight into physio-psychical facts. Simple sounds 
being the primitive sounds in which aboriginal man 
first attempted to speak, vocal, i.e., soulful sounds 
coming to him at a much later period. The ability to 
use both, offers inestimable advantages in comparative 
studies of this nature. 



Material — Immaterial 99 

The master who makes our repousse work, or en- 
graving, as I prefer to call it, is thought. As from 
an engraving on wood or stone, by mechanical means, 
the picture is printed, so from our engraving arises the 
expression, the tone. Hence, as I have said, the im- 
pression is thoughtful, the expression, being mechani- 
cal, thoughtless. 

The impression for vocal utterance being made on 
the elastic surface of the diaphragm, the main feature 
of an artistic vocal expression is the " elasticity " of 
its tones. The higher the performance the more pro- 
nounced will be this quality of elasticity. The deeper 
the lines the fuller will be the tone. An even tone is 
the result of an even impression; a tremolo is a suc- 
cession of impressions repeatedly made and as often 
released. Where feeling enters into the performance 
the impression is shaded from dark to light and from 
light to dark. 

It was not until I had fully established these facts 
and guided my speech in conformity therewith, that 
the same commenced to be freighted with the soulful 
expression of the English idiom ; while, theretofore, as 
with all foreigners, this expression was wanting. Nor 
had I been able until then to produce pure sounds, 
which from now out, guided by correct principles, and 
advancing from step to step, I was able to utter with 
ever greater purity as I penetrated, deeper and deeper, 
into the mystery of the formation of sounds and lan- 
guage. 

The significance of this for song production cannot 
be over-rated. We cannot overcome our deficiencies 
and attain a pure and soulful expression until we com- 



L ■ r 



ioo Duality of Thought and Language 

prehend the laws which influence vocal utterance and 
adapt our speech and song to these laws. There may 
be rare instances in which nature has bestowed this 
expression upon a person as a natural gift; as a rule, 
however, for perfect artistic expression, it must be 
acquired, not by haphazard effort, but by proper in- 
sight. 



FORMATION OF THE WORD. 

THOUGHT makes its impression through a com- 
bination of material and spiritual agencies. The 
spiritual impression made by thought is sustained by an 
inspiration or repression on the part of the material air 
on the other side of the diaphragm to the one on which 
such impression is being made. This repression sus- 
tains the impression while the formation of sounds 
into the word is being completed and at the same 
time imparts to the word its proper intonation. 

A further inspiration on the side of the diaphragm 
where the impression was first made then produces a 
pressure on the repression, and while obliterating it, 
gives the first impulse to the sounds of the word, 
which are reinforced by the vocal cords of the trachea 
and the oesophagus and resonated on the sounding 
boards of the oral cavity and the pharynx. This pres- 
sure and repressure during artistic song production is 
frequently repeated during the expression of a word, 
and thus infuses feeling into it. 

Every word, therefore, requires at least three dis- 
tinct actions for its production, one each for the im- 
pression, the repression and the expression. 

The second movement, that for the repression, is 

IOI 



io2 Duality of Thought and Language 

the most important, as all the feeling intended to be 
conveyed is concentrated in the same, it being the 
artistic movement for the proper production of the 
spiritual meaning of the word. Hence the formation 
of a word and its expression is not a single movement 
in any single direction, but is composed of many move- 
ments, which give shape to the word. It is of a similar 
order to that by which the sculptor forms parts of the 
model of his statue by pressure and repressure, after 
the soul had given shape to it in his mind. 

The main movements being threefold, the number 
three is of axiomatical importance in vocal utterance. 
Our mode of breathing for these three separate yet 
connected actions is apart from our vital mode of 
breathing. Inspiration and expiration for vocal ut- 
terance succeed one another as rapidly as the thought 
does to which they give utterance, and are interrupted 
only by a minute pause, during which the impression 
is made for the succeeding word. Hence breathing 
for vocal utterance is irregular and depends entirely 
upon the character of the word which is to be ex- 
pressed. 

The process of breathing for spiritual purposes is 
carried on independent of, yet in conjunction with, 
the one which is carried on for vital purposes ; it being 
far more rapid, however, than the latter, on account of 
the thought which underlies it. Its irregularity ne- 
cessitates the occasional pauses for " taking breath," 
inspiration and expiration not always equalizing each 
other as for mere vital breathing, during quiet sleep, 
for instance. The more imperfect our vocal utterance, 
the oftener will it be necessary to pause for taking 



Formation of the Word 103 

breath; perfect vocal utterance being a harmonious 
performance as between our vital and spiritual modes 
of breathing. While the two processes of breathing 
are separate, yet they sustain each other during ordi- 
nary conversation ; or if there are any irregularities 
they are easily bridged over during the quick flow of 
language. For the artistic performances of oratory 
and song, however, every irregularity in the har- 
monious performance of this measured and impres- 
sive mode of utterance is at. once felt as disharmony, 
caused by some irregularity in the fusion of the per- 
former's vital and spiritual mode of breathing. 

Spiritual influences prevail over vital, hence the 
former, during vocal utterance, always take the lead. 
The " channels " used for either purpose, of course, 
are the same in all instances, but the course of the 
"currents" (spiritual as well as material) differ with 
every nationality, each nation breathing in its own 
peculiar way for the production of its special idio- 
matic expression. 

This will again explain the influence of the idio- 
matic expression upon vital and spiritual phenomena, 
as witnessed by national traits of character and na- 
tional physical appearances. 

Animals of a low order are apt to breathe in pre- 
cisely the same manner, for each species, the world 
over. Animals of a higher order, however, no doubt 
breathe differently for each species, and in many in- 
stances also for every variety in conformity with their 
necessities and surroundings. 

In conformity with the preceding it will scarcely be 
necessary to call attention to the erroneousness of 



104 Duality of Thought and Language 

" special breathing exercises " as preparatory to vocal 
utterance in singing, etc. Breathing exercises, how- 
ever, for vital purposes, are highly influential and 
beneficial. While promoting a person's health, they 
also strengthen the channels through which breathing 
for expression is carried on. 

When the spiritual system is properly started by 
correctly breathing for the same, both systems will 
properly fall into line. Hence, for a correct perform- 
ance, the proper " attack " is of vital importance. 
Yet there are entire systems which participate in the 
production of vocal utterance, as the vascular, the 
lymphatic, and the spermatic systems, which appar- 
ently do not always participate in breathing for vital 
purposes. This makes the task upon which I have 
entered so great that I can at most expect to be able 
to throw out a hint here and there, a suggestion 
which may serve as a landmark to future investi- 
gators. 

Having written about these matters at various 
periods, I also beg to submit the following, being a 
somewhat different version of the preceding. 

When a word represents a spiritual idea, the im- 
pression is made on the thoracical side of the dia- 
phragm ; when it represents a material idea, it is made 
on the abdominal side. The expression follows on the 
same side on which the impression is made. 

This is to be understood as follows : Thought 
makes impressions on the diaphragm of a similar 
order in which the artist's steel draws the lines of a 
picture on a prepared metal plate, which lines, for an 
etching, wil be deepened by an acid poured upon them 



Formation of the Word 105 

while the rest of the plate is protected against its 
influence. 

Almost simultaneously with the lines thus pro- 
duced during inspiration on one side of the diaphragm 
there is an expiration, succeeded by an inspiration on 
its other side. This last inspiration (supposing the 
" plate " to be elastic and the " engraving " penetrating 
to its other side), in repressing the lines, is productive 
of sound on the side where the engraving has been 
made. Thus inspiration and expiration during and 
for vocal utterance succeed each other in constant and 
rapid succession. 

The process described in the foregoing, regarding 
the formation of words, is an outcome of close obser- 
vations of subtle actions actually going on within us. 
These observations have been made very frequently 
and are doubtless correct. As a matter of fact, they 
are observations of atomic and molecular move- 
ments for the production of sounds, which range 
themselves into the forms of syllables and words. The 
vowel sounds are molecules composed of spiritual 
atoms around which the consonants, which are mole- 
cules composed o«f physical atoms, range themselves 
as in a cluster. 

The clearer the thought, the more rapid and per- 
fect are these movements, and the purer their out- 
come — the utterance of the word. The idea, which 
with all peoples originates in the same vessels, but 
with all is expressed in a different manner, is thus 
translated into words. 



io6 Duality of Thought and Language 



THE MOVEMENTS OF THE TONGUE. 

The impressions thus made on the diaphragm origi- 
nate through motions of the tongue. For English 
vocal utterance a downward movement of the tongue 
as well as one to the left are productive of an in- 
spiration, an upward movement as well as one to the 
right of an expiration. For German vocal utterance 
an upward movement or one to the right means in- 
spiration, a downward movement or one to the left 
expiration. The same movements are made by the 
diaphragm in precisely inverse directions. 

Have you ever watched a child's tongue protruding 
from his mouth while " artistically " drawing pot- 
hooks or the signs of the letters of the alphabet ? The 
tongue follows the lines up and down, to the right 
and left, and while doing so the child breathes along- 
side of its tapering tip either for inspiration or expira- 
tion. The greatest artist's tongue does precisely what 
this child's does, and so does the tongue of every 
one of us, under similar circumstances, though we 
keep ours discreetly within the boundaries of the oral 
cavity. 

Our tongue makes motions of a similar nature 
while we are singing, reciting, drawing, painting, 
guiding the bow of the violin, playing billiards, or 
during any other performance in which exactitude 
and artistic feeling enter. For ordinary speech or any 
other performance of an ordinary character similar 
movements of the tongue obtain, but they are carried 
on more rapidly and automatically. 



The Movements of the Tongue 107 

While drawing a line to the right move your 
tongue to the left and you will not be able to continue 
to draw your line; your hand will come to a positive 
stop. It will do the same if you move it to the right 
while drawing a line to the left. You can test this by 
firmly imbedding the tip of your tongue into the oppo- 
site side of the jaw from the one in which you in- 
tended to draw your line, but be sure you hold it 
there constantly; the moment you release it, give it 
the slip, you can continue drawing your line without 
hindrance. 

While firmly holding the tip of your tongue against 
your teeth on the left side you will be unable to write 
from left to right, but the slightest release will 
enable you to do so. The opposite facts obtain with 
Germans. Upon making the anterior part of the 
abdomen rigid an Anglo-Saxon will be unable to 
write, though a German may. Upon making the an- 
terior part of the thorax rigid a German will be unable 
to write, though an Anglo-Saxon may. On the other 
hand, upon making the posterior part of the abdomen 
rigid an Anglo-Saxon will be able to write, though 
a German will not. Upon making the posterior part of 
the thorax rigid a German will be able to write, while 
an Anglo-Saxon will not be able to do so. 

Upon holding your tongue quite still, which you 
may succeed in doing by making it rigid or holding 
it firmly between your teeth, you will be unable to 
make any motion with your hand whatever, or, in fact, 
any motion of any kind. 

Similar observations may be made endlessly. In 
fact, I am well convinced that the impressions made 
upon the diaphragm are not merely of a positive na- 



108 Duality of Thought and Language 

ture, but also of a negative. That is to say, every act 
and action, not only of a positive order, are recorded 
on the diaphragm after having been first received by 
our senses, and are then transmitted to the nervous 
system in connection with the brain, whereupon we 
become conscious thereof; but every impression of a 
negative order also, e. g., while studying a picture, 
line for line, tint for tint, atmosphere, distance, etc., 
just as we see them are reproduced thereon. In other 
words, we do not see, hear, feel, smell, or taste in a 
direct manner, which enables us to at once become 
conscious of the impressions produced by these acts, 
but always indirectly, in the manner described. The 
impressions are first made upon the different vessels of 
the viscera, then upon the diaphragm and thence upon 
the brain by a peculiar mode of breathing for each 
special performance. 

This, however, is the English version; with Ger- 
mans the impression is first made upon the brain, then 
upon the diaphragm, and finally upon the respective 
vessel of the viscera. If we contemplate the mar- 
vellously intricate construction of the diaphragm 
we may well conceive that every impression may not 
only be duplicated, but also recorded there, the same 
as it is likely to be on the convolutions of the brain, 
and that such impressions may be recalled to our 
memory by the inner surfaces of our organs of sense 
in relation therewith, and a correlative action, as be- 
tween diaphragm and brain, representing as they do 
matter and mind. 

I am also convinced that there is an activity of the 
tongue connected with every impression, not only in 



The Movements of the Tongue 109 

connection with vocal utterance, but with even- other 
subject of which we become conscious. 

Observations like these in connection with the move- 
ments of the tongue and the recognition of the fact 
that a line horizontally drawn through the exact mid- 
dle of the diaphragm divides the body into an upper 
and lower half, respectively representing things im- 
material and material, led to the recognition of this 
additional fact that a vertical line which divides the 
trunk of the body into a left and a right half, also 
respectively represents things material and immate- 
rial; the oesophagus representing the left, the mate- 
rial, the trachea the right, the immaterial side of this 
division. 

That the motions of either the right or the left 
hand, arm and body, during conversation, or while 
reciting, acting, or singing, are made in conformity 
with the facts just mentioned it will be my endeavor 
to prove later on in conjunction with the subjects of 
motion and locomotion. That our hands, the same as 
our tongue, are permeated by spiritual factors, is 
proven by the gestures which they perform and by 
many other facts. The hands and the tongue, the 
same as the tongue and the diaphragm, act correla- 
tively. The hands are for art what the tongue is for 
vocal utterance. The hands and the tongue are the 
only factors in our composition which are able to move 
with absolute freedom and are subject to the dictates 
of the will. 

The upper part of the body, as well as its right 
side, consequently, are representative of our spiritual, 
the lower part and the left side of our material life. 



no Duality of Thought and Language 

While the upper part and the right side are thus spir- 
itual, and the lower and the left side material, the 
thorax, though spiritual, in connection with its left 
side, is also material; and the abdomen, though ma- 
terial, in connection with its right side, is also 
spiritual. This is the English version, the German 
is the reverse. These facts must be well borne in mind 
if we want to comprehend the true nature of vocal 
utterance. 

A motion from the upper right to the lower left, 
piercing the diaphragm near its centre, which is the 
basic line for German thought and speech, conse- 
quently embraces not only spiritual and material, but 
also spiritual-material and material-spiritual issues; 
while a line from the lower left to the upper right, 
which is the line for English thought and speech, em- 
braces the same issues in a reverse order. 

All this, no doubt, is very puzzling ; but it can, all, 
be satisfactorily explained, after sufficient reflection, 
study and experiment. Many other things, which, 
when I first obtained knowledge thereof, were appar- 
ently contradictory and irreconcilable, have since be- 
come clear to me. 



INTONATION. 

If there is anything in man's composition that 
stands for his spiritual being, it is thought and its 
representation, the spoken language; the spiritual 
translated into the material sounds of speech. 

As thought represents every phase of our spiritual 



Intonation in 

life, and as language with civilized peopies very nearly 
possesses words expressive of every thought and feel- 
ing, does it not seem likely that if we should succeed 
in tracing the material word to its spiritual origin, 
we would come nearer to the knowledge of the actual 
state of inter-relation of our dual being than we could 
in any other way? 

We must not forget that the meaning of a word 
as expressed by its " dynamic " or subconscious intona- 
tion, no matter what form such word may assume in 
the different languages, is always of precisely the same 
order. 

In using the word " subconscious " I mean what is 
transcendentally immanent within us and of which 
we become conscious through the " intonation " em- 
bodied in the spoken word. As the concept is the 
same, or very nearly the same, with all peoples alike, 
so is this subconscious intonation, or expression of 
the concept, which is in no wise subject to the will. 

When a person sees an apple, no matter what 
country he lives in, or what language he speaks, there 
is in the intonation of the word expressive of the idea 
conveyed by the sight of an apple something which 
is the same in all languages. It is not, however, so 
much, as far as I have been able to trace it, expressive 
of the species "apple" as of the gender " fruit"; 
though closer observation may even lead to the recog- 
nition of the particular species. 

The same remark applies to words of an abstract 
order. 

The proof of the correctness of this remark lies in the 
fact that while vocally expressing a word belonging to 



n2 Duality of Thought and Language 

the same class, as, f.i., a word representing an animal of 
the genus cat, one of the virtues, etc., the position of 
the vocal organs remains unchanged for all words of 
the same order. This applies not only to our own, but 
to the expression of the same idea in any other lan- 
guage. Even for words of the most heterogeneous 
derivation and mode of spelling, as key, Schluessel, 
clef; or country, Land, pays; or handsome, schoen, 
beau, etc., the intonation imbedded in the word and the 
position of the vocal organs producing these words is 
precisely the same. As soon as a word of another 
order is to be produced, however, the position of the 
vocal organs, as well as the intonation, at once under- 
goes a change. In consequence of this fact I have 
traced entire " groups of ideas," as to their origin, to 
the same organs of the body. 

I have spoken of these matters elsewhere ; but what 
I want to say in connection with these facts now is, 
that they offer an opportunity for entering into the 
heretofore inscrutable mystery of man's dual nature. 
He who can solve the mystery of the " word " has 
found Aladdin's lamp, which will throw light into the 
innermost recesses of the soul. The reason is obvious ; 
the spoken word is both material and spiritual; ma- 
terial in its sound, spiritual in its intonation, which 
represents its meaning, it being soul and body of a 
thing of which we become cognizant. What we be- 
come conscious of outwardly through the spoken word 
is a reflection of our inner being. 

I have thus found in the spoken word an entering 
wedge into the mystery of the soul. 

When Goethe says in his " Faust " : 



Intonation 113 

" Geschrieben steht: Im Anfang war das Wort ! 
Hier stock ich schon, wer hilft mir weiter fort ? 
Ich kann das Wort so hoch unmoeglich schaetzen, 
Ich muss es anders uebersetzen." 



" At first there was the word ! thus it is writ ; 
I must already pause ; who will assist my wit ? 
It is not right the word so high to rate, 
I must endeavor better to translate," 

he was ignorant of the true significance of the word. 

Some " kind " of language is a gift possessed by 
all men. Discoverers of islands in mid-ocean, never 
before visited, found their inhabitants possessed of 
a language. Such language, no matter how con- 
strained it may have been in words, was composed of 
the same elementary vocal sounds as their own. If it 
had not been, it would have been impossible ever to 
comprehend it and establish an intercourse. All lan- 
guages are composed of the same vocal elements. 
These elements are spiritual, and as such universal. 
They belong to man's spiritual system, as much so 
as any part of the body belongs to his physical sys- 
tem. These spiritual elements are of the same order 
in the first mutterings of an infant in civilization as 
in those of an infant in the most barbarous state on the 
most isolated island in mid-ocean. 

There is a predisposition with every child to speak ; 
a positive want to express itself. Yet there is no 
original disposition with man to express himself in, 
any given form; more especially to speak like his 
parents, as is often assumed. The spiritual conception 
is free, but it is wrought into a given material 



ii4 Duality of Thought and Language 

form of language through education. One language 
may be elucidated from an infant as well as another; 
which also shows that, though the form may differ, 
the spiritual expression, the intonation, in which the 
spirit expresses itself apart from any constraint of 
form, is always the same. A given language once 
elucidated, however, and continued for some time, 
becomes a fixed habit. 

If vocal sounds were not spiritual elements and if 
words representative of ideas were not spiritually im- 
bedded in our nature it would be impossible to always 
use the same word for the same thing or idea, and to 
consistently do so during a person's entire lifetime. 
It would be impossible for children and certainly for 
infants to thus use them. Even assuming that a 
grown person's " memory " should be so wonderfully 
developed as to enable him to use the same terms al- 
ways for the same idea, in connection with children, 
more especially with dull children, this would be a 
supposition impossible to sustain, as it would be an 
example of a most prodigious feat of memory, not at 
all commensurate with their other faculties. 

Even grown persons who speak their language 
fluently, often hesitate when it comes to a name, which 
is an arbitrary appellation, not inherent in a thing, 
and relatively not inherent in the speaker. How then 
can it be explained that an entire nation of millions of 
people, scattered over a wide territory, many of whom 
of a low mental order, should all be able to express 
themselves precisely alike? That Indians, who can- 
not count three, one and two being all some tribes of 



Intonation 115 

bushmen have an expressive term for, should be able 
to use an entire range of words, no matter how lim- 
ited, by their entire tribe, scattered far and wide? 
That entire nations should be able to understand 
each other in the translation of words from one idiom 
into another? It would be impossible to understand 
the meaning of a dead language, once belonging to a 
nation long departed, if it were not for the fact that 
what is spiritually embodied in every man's nature, 
when joined to what is spiritually coming to him 
from without, did reproduce in the word what is 
known to all alike in the spirit, and that the same facts 
have always prevailed with man from time imme- 
morial. That the form of the word changes in differ- 
ent languages is due to the form of the vessel from 
which they emanate; the shape which the body as- 
sumes in conformity with its language being charac- 
teristic of the expression of every separate nation. 

In locating language I have located the spirit, 
which leads man into and out of and beyond himself, 
and makes every thinking individual a centre of the 
universe. While we occupy a minimum of space, our 
individuality, in conformity with our spiritual endow- 
ments and capabilities, though often confined to a 
narrow circle, may extend to endless regions be- 
yond. 

These things must not be regarded as the mere 
outcome of speculation. I possess positive knowledge 
thereof by virtue of my studies into the life, character 
and being of the living vocal utterance, and hence 
of the spiritual life of two such heterogeneous nations 
as the English and the Germans. 



n6 Duality of Thought and Language 

If what we call speech were simply mechanical, 
the effect of the expired air upon the vocal cords, we 
could not give utterance to our thoughts; we would, 
in fact, be thoughtless ; we would be reduced to a state 
as low as the dumb beasts, groping our way along the 
ground, never raising our eyes to the sky ; we would 
be unbeknown to ourselves and our fellows, callous to 
all feeling beyond hunger and pain, devoid of every 
higher instinct, knowledge and aspiration. 

Language, however, is not only our best spiritual 
possession, it is also of vast importance for our physi- 
cal development. The deaf are not only crippled men- 
tally, but also physically. Speaking predicates think- 
ing, and both thinking and speaking mean breathing, 
not only through our lungs, but through our entire 
system, not only of the air and its oxygen, but also of 
the ether, magnetism and electricity; the words we 
think and utter, while they are permeated by these 
agencies, permeate our entire being. 

Science has confined itself to such investigations as 
could be pursued by means recognizable through the 
senses. The results have been in conformity with this 
mode of investigation. A mass of facts have been 
gathered, very interesting in themselves, but there is 
a want of concatenation ; the spirit is wanting which 
unites them, as it unites a human being out of a thou- 
sand facts into one living homogeneous entity. 

We can reach conclusions of the most hidden 
spiritual nature through the analysis of the spoken 
word. Should we ever in this wise fully learn what 
the essence of language is, we shall fully learn what 
thought is, the representative of the soul. Knowing 



Thought and Language 117 

the soul's representative is synonymous with knowing 
the soul itself; for our thought is our soul, as our 
soul is our thought. 



THOUGHT AND LANGUAGE. 

Speech is the representative of our thoughts in- 
corporated in vocal sounds. Vocal sounds are spiritual 
elements, as much so as oxygen and hydrogen are 
material elements. These elements are representative 
of both the spirit and the body of language, or the 
positive and negative factors thereof, in conformity 
with whether they are vowels or consonants. Vocal 
sounds by themselves have no meaning. It is only 
when placed together in a given order, thus forming a 
word, and when uttered in a special manner, that they 
represent ideas. A vowel sound, all by itself, when 
uttered in a given manner, may sometimes represent 
an idea; consonants never represent an idea. Both 
vowels and consonants are uttered in many different 
ways, according to the word in which they are em- 
bodied and the meaning such word represents. The 
shadings of vowel sounds are as endless as the ideas 
they help forming. The shadings of consonants are 
determined by those of the vowels in conjunction with 
which they assist in forming syllables; consonant 
sounds always assuming the shade of the vowel sound 
which carries them. 

I am dealing with language, the representative of 
our thoughts; while philologists deal with roots, and 
physiologists and vocal teachers, as a rule, with vowel 



1 18 Duality of Thought and Language 

sounds only. It must always be borne in mind that 
in song it is an idea which is to be interpreted and 
uttered, not mere sounds. While it is important that 
we should comprehend what constitutes the machinery 
from which sounds are uttered, and also the manner 
in which this machinery is set in motion, it is more 
important to comprehend that both these factors only 
serve to assist thought in being converted into the 
sounds of speech as embodied in spoken words. It is 
the essence of the word, therefore, in the first instance, 
which we must attempt to comprehend. After the 
word comes the sentence; the word being influenced 
by the place it occupies in the sentence. 

To contemplate the material instrument of the 
voice only, even if it were known in all its various 
phases, is about as sensible as it would be to classify 
a flower in accordance with Linne's system for the 
purpose of arriving at the manner in which its odor 
is produced. 

. Man's greatest prerogative is his ability to think 
and to give expression to his thought through lan- 
guage. It has always been one of man's most ardent 
desires to penetrate into the manner and mode of his 
thought, which is representative of his spirit. While 
we are the spirit, spirituality baffles our every at- 
tempt at becoming acquainted with its (the spirit's) 
own nature. While it is given to the spirit to recog- 
nize things, it cannot know itself. 

Every endeavor by the greatest minds in this di- 
rection has been fruitless of satisfactory results. Now, 
I, a person not gifted beyond the ordinary, claim to 
have succeeded beyond any previous attempt at pene- 



Thought and Language 119 

trating into matters heretofore supposed to be im- 
penetrable. 

By what means has this been accomplished? I am 
desirous of making this clear, not only for the com- 
prehension and satisfaction of other persons, but also 
for that of my own. Science in its examinations starts 
from the body, whose inner being is foreign to us 
and which is known to us only in its appearance ; which 
does not admit of a uniform scientific comprehension 
and offers us only rigid conditions. I start from the 
spirit, the domain of thought, which is free and elastic, 
and the spoken word, which is subject to our will and 
regarding which we are in possession of thousands of 
positive facts. 

Every philosophical system ever elaborated has 
been worked out by thought pure and simple. It was 
the spiritual attempting to comprehend the spirit, or 
the spirit attempting to comprehend the spiritual. 
Now, we are not spirits pure and simple ; we are mat- 
ter as well. Spirit inwoven in matter; matter inter- 
woven by spirit. 

Hence the failure of philosophy at attaining definite 
results in matters whose inmost nature is hidden from 
us by the fact that all our faculties are correlated, that 
is, dually related, the spiritual to the material, the 
material to the spiritual. I have succeeded at attain- 
ing an insight into this relationship through an insight 
into the relationship existing between thought and 
language, a correlation covering the entire range of 
our spiritual life. 

Thought, being spiritual, escapes the scrutiny of 
the spirit; thought cannot be dissected, so to say, by 



i2o Duality of Thought and Language 

thought; it cannot be analyzed as to its origin and 
development in a spiritual manner. It is beyond our 
reach. But language is not. It being both physical 
and spiritual, we have a hold on it that we have not 
upon thought pure and simple; and here is our op- 
portunity. 

This opportunity, if properly used, will change our 
entire mode of viewing things in relation to our spirit- 
ual nature. It will lead us to the very fountain-head 
of knowledge, where spiritual and material factors 
meet and unite. This knowledge, after being properly 
developed, will enable us to gain control over the 
exercise of our faculties. 

Process upon process unrolls itself before our eyes, 
showing the intimate relationship existing between 
matter and mind in the exercise of our faculties of 
thinking, seeing, hearing, speaking, of motion, loco- 
motion, etc. 

These are matters of the utmost importance, and 
I must endeavor to make the reader see them from the 
same standpoint that I see them. The abstract cannot 
comprehend the abstract, nor the concrete the con- 
crete. I have ascertained through the physiological 
study of language that when I see a material thing 
before me, as this desk at which I am writing, it takes 
a spiritual factor within me to comprehend its ma- 
terial nature; but when I think of the beauty of the 
desk (it being inlaid), the factor of beauty being of 
a spiritual nature, it takes a material factor within me 
to form an estimate of its beauty. My spiritual nature 
alone could not comprehend the material nature of 
the desk, nor could my material nature by itself form 



Thought and Language 121 

an estimate of its beauty or spirituality. Matter and 
mind correlatively, however, can understand, and in 
so doing become conscious of the facts involved in 
the case. 

There are other features, however, connected with 
the desk neither purely material nor purely spiritual, 
as the form which has been given to the wood it is 
made of, and by which it has been constituted what 
it is, a desk. Then there is the use it is put to and 
for which it was intended. These features are spirit- 
ual-material or material-spiritual in conformity with 
the fact whether the spiritual or the material in the 
idea predominates. 

Hence the only manner in which we can penetrate 
into true and actual conditions is from the standpoint 
of our dual nature, which combines by fusion spiritual- 
ity with materiality. 

While philosophy uses pure thought for its investi- 
gations, physiology uses thought of a concrete, ap- 
preciable or perceptible nature. It studies phenomena 
from a visible and tangible point of view. Hence its 
failure likewise to attain satisfactory results. Psy- 
chology, on the other hand, investigating for the most 
part abnormal cases only, has no opportunity of ar- 
riving at results of the normal. 

In language expressive of our thoughts every spir- 
itual element we possess comes to the front, no mat- 
ter how hidden and involved it may appear to be. 
If we are capable of giving expression to our most 
secret thought, as we aver, the language in which such 
thought is clad is the revelation of the very mystery 
of the soul, and will, if properly understood, lead to 



122 Duality of Thought and Language 

the recognition of the cause of the thought and the 
" modus operandi " in which the thought emanates 
from factors unknown and communicates with factors 
of speech also unknown and supposed to be unknow- 
able. Language is the only factor known to us which 
represents our dual nature in a comprehensive and 
comprehensible form. It is both spiritual and ma- 
terial. The study of the essence of language conse- 
quently can be made a basis for the study of life and 
the spirit. It appears to me to be, as a matter of fact, 
the only basis for a profitable study thereof. 
^ The inmost motive powers of our soul-life are im- 
bedded in the language we speak. v Language reveals 
what is hidden if we can truly comprehend and ex- 
pound it. v I do not mean language in a philological 
sense, nor any special language, but language as such, 
our mother tongue, in its intonation and the life and 
soul which pervade it. Where language fails to fully 
express our thoughts and feelings, in place of words 
we often use gestures and motions, accompanied by 
ejaculations and inflections of the voice ; groans, sobs, 
and stifled utterances of words, expressive of joy, 
love, surprise, pity, remorse, anguish, anger, hate, etc. 
The child hears these sounds from his mother's lips 
and sees them in her eyes. For the eye reflects the 
soul and the manifestations of the soul, which the 
infant interprets far more sensitively and correctly than 
the adult. In this manner we imbibe our mother 
tongue, and in this manner it becomes part of our- 
selves. The voice always accompanies these manifes- 
tations of our feelings in some way or another. Thus 
language extends beyond words. Where words fail 



Thought and Language 123 

us the suppressed language of our feelings begins. 
These unspoken words cover a great range and in 
their mode of expression differ with every nationality. 

To be able to comprehend their inner nature, the 
manner in which they are produced, and the parts 
whence they emanate, together with the spoken word, 
leads us into channels opening up vistas which give 
us glimpses at the most secret, veiled and mysterious 
proceedings of our nature, at what is immanent with- 
in us and transcendent. 

The most direct route to arrive at these facts is 
the examination into a foreign language, and a com- 
parative study thereof, from the standpoint of our 
mother tongue; from the standpoint of the language 
in which we are reared, which has been imbibed with 
our mother's milk, her heart and soul, as expressed 
in her words and in that mysterious language of the 
inflections of her voice, not always clad in words; 
from the standpoint in which her soul enters our soul, 
her heart our heart, her feelings our feelings, and 
from which language is something far higher, holier 
and deeper than its mere exterior, its clothing in 
words. 

What is thus imbibed in early childhood remains 
throughout life and is strengthened and deepened by 
the teachings of religion, the knowledge acquired in 
school, the intimate acquaintance with the master- 
minds of one's own country, its poets and writers. 
It is the language in which we live, love, dream, pray, 
and, maybe, despair, curse and hate ; in which we soar 
and deplore ; in which all our ambitions centre and all 
our aspirations. The language in which we received 



i24 Duality of Thought and Language 

the first hard lesson in life, destructive of early ideals ; 
yet strengthening for the stern battle before us. That 
language is deeply imbedded in our nature and can 
never be wholly replaced by another. 

Do you think all that can be changed by just learn- 
ing the words of another language? That we can thus 
enter into the life of another nationality and its spirit ? 
Do you think we can ever acquire the spirit of a for- 
eign language as expressed in its metre, rhythm, ac- 
cent, intonation and emphasis? Possibly we may, but 
it is not easy, for with every one of these factors we 
must change a vital factor of our own ; for every one 
of them we must breathe differently than for our own. 

Hence the weariness of the life of a foreigner in 
a foreign land. It is not that he is not understood in 
what he wants to say, in an exterior manner; that he 
will soon learn. But the depth of feeling, the sym- 
pathetic chord is wanting — he neither understands nor 
is understood. Hence he is stranded in his feelings, 
in the sacredness of his heart and soul-life. 

A man once came to me with a request. His ap- 
pearance was unprepossessing. His speech was un- 
couth, rough, unsympathetic. He spoke to me in 
English and I answered in that tongue. But when I 
spoke to him in German, all at once his whole aspect 
changed, and there came from him tones and accents 
so tender and clad in such refined language (he had 
seen better days) that I was touched and at once 
granted what he had asked for. A similar case hap- 
pened with a man in a dye-house. He had been work- 
ing all day over the vats. His hands and face were 
sooty, smeared; but when he changed his shirt there 



Evolution 125 

appeared a body white and resplendent, and after 
washing his hands and face he became a different 
being. My German was like this dyer. He had but 
to change his borrowed garb, which so ill-fitted him, 
and in his native language he appeared white and re- 
splendent. 

Now we come to another country, as I have, f. i., 
in my twentieth year. All the surroundings are differ- 
ent. The language in which we have been reared, 
and which has become a part of our nature, of our own 
being, comes in contact, yea, in conflict with another 
tongue, the language of another country, the mode of 
existence of another people. We learn the words of 
that other language, but we do not learn their in- 
tonation, their pulsating, silent inner life, which is of 
a different order from that inherent in our language. 
We are foreigners and remain so; remain so, unless 
we learn by such studies as I have made, to grasp the 
spirit of the language of our adopted country, and 
through this spirit learn to properly speak this lan- 
guage, and thus also learn to comprehend and ap- 
preciate the spirit and the character of the people 
among whom we have come to live. 



EVOLUTION. 

In making a comparative study as between the 
English and German languages I have come upon 
some fundamental truths regarding the character of 
the peoples speaking these respective languages. 

Now, in view of all I have previously said regard- 



126 Duality of Thought and Language 

ing the origin of nations, what is the significance of 
the current expression " Anglo-Saxon " ? I have used 
it simply for the want of one more accurate. The 
word " Englishman " by itself would not do, for the 
Americans, Canadians, Australians, etc., are not Eng- 
lishmen in the ordinary sense of the term, although 
they speak the English language. In my book " The 
Basic Law of Vocal Utterance " I used the term 
" Anglican " instead of Anglo-Saxon, in order to 
avoid the more extensive expression, " English-speak- 
ing races," which alone would be strictly accurate, 
but I have abandoned it again because reformation of 
language is no part of my task, and I much prefer 
leaving that to others. There is something of anomaly 
in the expression when one considers that by far the 
greater number of the so-called Anglo-Saxons now 
living are descendants of other races than the Angles 
and the Saxons. The term appears particularly in- 
accurate when it is used, as it continually is here and 
in England, to describe traits of character which are 
peculiar to the English, as originating with the Anglo- 
Saxons, or having been by direct descent inherited 
from them. In this sense there are to-day not many 
Anglo-Saxons, but a whole race of people who are 
subject to the laws of the English language, the lan- 
guage which has arisen under the influence of the 
" Sea " ; a language that stamps with its impress the 
physical as well as the psychic character of every child 
of foreign parents born under its sway. No matter 
from what race they spring — they become Anglo- 
Saxons. 

That a similar evolution is taking place in all other 



Evolution 127 

countries with the children of foreign immigrants goes 
without saying. In the meantime, the question 
whether such an evolution is an advance, except where 
it affects a lower race for its elevation, must remain 
undecided. Whole races are civilized by means of a 
" higher " language. The " Irish question," as far 
as that term signifies the animosity of the Emerald 
Isle against England, will be settled as soon as the 
lower classes of the Irish population exchange their 
peculiar brogue for a correctly intoned and pronounced 
English, and so become, to all intents and purposes, 
English themselves. Everything else would then 
settle itself. 

The Austrian question is, as is generally recog- 
nized, in the main a question of language, for the 
various traits of character of the different Austrian 
races are determined in large measure by the lan- 
guage spoken. The sympathies and antipathies of the 
races towards one another rest almost entirely upon 
grounds that can be traced back to a linguistic 
origin. 

The " Jewish question," too, would be solved if 
the Jews would take the trouble to speak the language 
of the people among whom they live exactly as their 
neighbors ; that is to say, if they would abandon their 
dialect, traces of which are noticeable in the speech of 
even many of the educated among them. There are 
numerous examples, at least in America, of Jews who 
have nothing Jewish about them in appearance or 
manner, and in such cases it will always be found that 
their speech, in its idiomatic expression, is thoroughly 
genuine. The religious side of the question is of little 



128 Duality of Thought and Language 

consequence as against the overbalancing importance 
of the racial. 

It is an anomaly, when speaking in this country or 
England of a significant or noble course of action, to 
boast that it is characteristically Anglo-Saxon. So, 
when Germans speak of " German " intellect and tem- 
perament, " German " loyalty and spiritual depth, it is 
again something which lies secreted in the German 
language which " makes their poetry, forms their 
thought," to which is to be ascribed the origin of 
these characteristics and which brings them to light. 

Another expression, and one which is used con- 
tinually here in a similar sense, is a " Christian " point 
of view, virtue, etc. This is an anomaly in our pro- 
gressive era which is, in fact, "un-Christian," having ad- 
vanced beyond dogmatic Christianity, and from the 
higher standpoint of the purely moral sense, concludes 
entire humanity with a like love; an anomaly in an 
age which has gotten beyond the superstition which is 
ever ready to consign to " eternal punishment " any- 
body who differs in thought or feeling. And this 
superstition, together with a multitude of others, wliich 
for many are already a breath from the past, but 
which still ring out everywhere from brazen tongues 
into the free morning air of the twentieth century, 
will, in this century, for educated people, become a 
point of view completely antiquated. Among the 
Anglo-Saxons, however, for physiological reasons, 
which I will endeavor further to explain, in all prob- 
ability it will linger for a while longer. 

This century, however, will also get beyond the 
scientific materialism which denies the existence of the 



Evolution 129 

spirit, that watches over us poor humans, supports us 
and leads us to ever higher goals. Men will cease to 
busy themselves with mere matter and will seek the 
highest end of science in the search for the true nature 
of the animating spirit. The key to that will be found 
in the recognition of the duality of human nature, and 
through the truth thus won correct conclusions will 
be arrived at regarding the highest insight, which will 
in time become the common property of entire hu- 
manity. 

The work of Darwin and his school, important 
though it is, rests more on the observation of phe- 
nomena than on penetration to the heart of creative 
nature. The whole movement must therefore be looked 
upon more as a sign-post showing the way out of a 
narrow chasm in which we found ourselves without 
means of egress, up to light and freedom. But light 
and freedom themselves it is not. They must be un- 
covered by a totally different method. The Darwinian 
movement is, so to speak, of passive nature, like our 
whole being, the nature of the creature that cannot 
help being worked upon. What is lacking, and which 
is indeed most needed, is the recognition of the man- 
ner and means by which human nature is worked 
upon, so that in passing from the passive to the active 
condition we can aid nature, and thus attain the ability 
to remove the obstacles from her way and make it 
easy for her to exert the proper influence upon us. To 
accomplish this the recognition of eternal laws of 
which we are subject ought to be the highest aim of 
medicine, hygiene, music, etc., quite apart from what 
psychology and philosophy attempt. 



130 Duality of Thought and Language 

That as yet we have not known such laws appears 
at once when we consider merely a single instance, 
namely, that every explanation of the process of 
breathing, the first essential of life, which has hitherto 
been given, is in the highest degree primitive, un- 
scientific and one-sided. 

I believe that I may say of right that my studies 
indicate the first step towards the proper recognition 
of this important and many-sided conception. In this 
alone there is more for the correct recognition of our 
being and the demands of our welfare than the entire 
scope of observation of Darwin would supply. 

The observation of the true process of breathing 
brought me to a position never before attained, the 
observation and perception of purely spiritual proc- 
esses. These studies do not confine themselves to 
abnormal or supernormal spiritual phenomena, to 
which investigators of the present day seem wholly 
given over, and to all appearances without result, but 
they are occupied with entirely normal conditions, and 
in these is the greater mystery. For the abnormal the 
normal supplies a norm. The normal itself offers us 
no point of comparison, no point of vantage, and for 
that reason it is hard to get at. Nevertheless in the 
differences which exist between races and their lan- 
guages I found the variation from a given norm, 
which is determinative of our own language; a field 
that has yet lain fallow, and on it are based most of 
my observations. In these studies I have not to do 
merely with the strongholds of facts, but also with 
what lies behind these facts, or phenomena, and this 
leads me to the recognition of eternally potent laws. 



Evolution 131 

The evolution which makes an Englishman out of a 
German is one that we can observe step by step 
from beginning to end, and whose hidden grounds 
we can see for ourselves with reasonable clearness, if 
we give it sufficient intellect, time and attention. Yes, 
more. When such an evolution is taking place within 
ourselves ( for only in this way are we in a proper posi- 
tion for observation) we are then not merely passive 
subjects of this evolution, but are also its objective 
author, director and guide, at once creature and crea- 
tor. Such a method leads us directly to the spring of 
life. By such and similar methods alone can we press 
into the very essence of our being and exchange blun- 
dering efforts on many fields of endeavor for scientific 
insight and the knowledge of immutable laws. 



THE SPIRITUAL IN LANGUAGE PREVAILS 
OVER THE MATERIAL. 

THE fundamental principle of our spiritual life con- 
sists in the fact that the higher of its dual factors 
is either imbedded in us while the lower is coming to 
us, or that the lower is imbedded within us while the 
higher is coming to us. This principle finds its best 
and truest exponent in language. The main character- 
istic quality of the German language consists in the 
fact that its spiritual elements are outgoing, while its 
material elements are ingoing ; that of the English lan- 
guage in the fact that its spiritual elements are ingo- 
ing,- while its material elements are outgoing. The 
fundamental principle with German nature being spir- 
itual or ideal, it requires the material to come to it 
and complement it; the fundamental principle with 
Anglo-Saxon nature being material, it requires the 
spiritual to come to it and complement it. This fact, 
like every other of my statements, can be tested by 
practical means : every word representing a material 
idea having its seat in the abdomen and proceeding 
from the oesophagus, or the posterior part of the oral 
cavity ; every one representing an immaterial idea hav- 
ing its seat in the thorax and proceeding from the 

132 



The Spiritual in Language 133 

trachea, or anterior part of the oral cavity, while ma- 
terial-immaterial ideas, or words representative there- 
of, proceed in part from the oesophagus, and in part 
from the trachea. 

The immaterial in language always largely prevails 
over the material. The higher in the scale of human- 
ity, the greater is this preponderance. Every material 
object has many immaterial or spiritual concomitants ; 
they may be descriptive of size, weight, shape, tempera- 
ture, color, or such qualities as age, beauty, health, 
virtues, vices, temperament, etc. 

Spiritual expressions, on the other hand, are never 
accompanied by material definitions. A brick, which 
is about as material a thing as might be named, every 
immaterial attribute having been expelled from it dur- 
ing the process of baking, may yet be surrounded by 
immaterial elements. It may be hard or soft, dull or 
lustrous, loose or compact, wet or dry, hot or cold; it 
may be oblong, square, etc.; it may be made of sand 
and water, or many other materials; it may be used 
for a hut or a palace, a theatre, or a church; it may 
be imbedded in a pavement, or used as a missile ; and 
it may possess qualities of many other kinds. This 
shows the great preponderance of spiritual or imma- 
terial expressions over the one expression which stands 
for the thing itself. As we ascend the scale these 
qualities and surroundings multiply manifold. 

Immaterial or abstract ideas, on the other hand, 
stand out clear and distinct, and require no definition. 
It is so when we speak of justice, honor, mercy, truth, 
falsehood, meanness, hypocrisy, etc. While there may 
be grades of a higher or a lower order in which these 



134 Duality of Thought and Language 

concepts are viewed, according to circumstances and 
by different classes of men, the thing itself is well 
defined and unquestioned. 

I have shown that the word " brick," as such, does 
not properly define anything, but that it must be com- 
plemented by spiritual adjuncts to evoke in us the idea 
of what it really stands for; though there may be a 
general idea prevalent in our minds of what is usually 
meant by it. When we substitute for the word 
" brick " that of " house," the definitions become vastly 
more complicated ; yet apparently the idea of what the 
word stands for can be simply defined as a habitation 
for man to live in — a dwelling. 

Now, what follows? That the material, though 
apparently something positive and real, as a matter of 
fact, is something very indefinite and unreal; while 
the immaterial, which, apparently, is something in- 
definite and ill-defined, in reality is very definite and 
real. It also follows that while the apparently real, 
the material, can be reduced and often is reduced to 
its "elements, and is thus destroyed as an entity, the 
apparently unreal, the immaterial, or spiritual, always 
endures and is never destroyed. Hence the apparently 
real is the actually unreal, while the apparently unreal 
is the actually real. The inference to be drawn from 
this is that the spiritual in man, the real, survives the 
material, the unreal — as the fittest. 

Considering, then, that the abstract, immaterial or 
spiritual in language representing our spiritual ex- 
istence, is the vastly preponderating factor, does it 
not seem strange that scientists in their investigations 
into life should start from and adhere to the material 



Influx and Efflux 135 

part of our being and leave its spiritual concomitant 
almost unnoticed ? I have called attention to this fact 
in connection with the investigations made into the 
nature of the voice, and also with such as the school 
whose rallying word is " Monism " has made under 
the leadership of Prof. Haeckel. 

We must investigate what is fundamental and en- 
during in our composition — the ideal and spiritual, and 
not what is temporal and evanescent — the concrete 
and material. We must reach the material by way of 
the spiritual, and not vice versa. The spiritual il- 
lumines our entire being, the material confines itself 
to parts. Hence the unsatisfactory nature, as a rule, 
of physiological examinations, which are almost ex- 
clusively confined to ex parte physical phenomena. 



INFLUX AND EFFLUX. 

The immaterial is the soul of language, gives lan- 
guage its character. The immaterial in the German 
language, its soul, being imbedded in the person, its 
main characteristic trait is that it is outgoing; the 
immaterial in the English language, its soul, coming 
to the person, its main characteristic trait is that it is 
ingoing. I recognized this fact in a general way many 
years ago, without being able to account for it. I said 
in " The Basic Law, etc.," published in 1894, page 41 : 
" Germans exhale their speech, Anglicans inhale theirs. 
German speech comes direct from the throat, while 
English speech pursues an indirect course. After be- 



13 6 Duality of Thought and Language 

ing inhaled over the surface of the tongue it is ex- 
haled from beneath the same. With German speech 
the precisely opposite course takes place. The air is 
inhaled from beneath the slightly raised tongue ; it is 
exhaled from over the tongue/' 

This assertion, though ridiculed when it was first 
made, has been confirmed over and over again during 
all the years I have devoted to these studies. After 
the discovery of the dual nature of the voice, this ob- 
servation, in fact, was the one giving direction of the 
highest order to this entire knowledge. 

Owing to the great preponderance of the spiritual 
element in language, teachers of the voice inadverently 
deal with this factor alone, and devote no attention to 
its material elements. Close observation of the pro- 
duction of words, however, shows that whatever 
course the immaterial parts of speech take, the ma- 
terial always take the opposite course. While the 
former are exhaled by Germans, the latter are inhaled 
by them; while the former are inhaled by Anglo- 
Saxons, the latter are exhaled by them. This observa- 
tion is of the highest importance in the study of the 
art of singing, elocution, etc. 

An Anglican awaits the immaterial to come to 
him, hence the slowness of his utterance and the re- 
pose of his being. The German freely utters the im- 
material that is in him, hence the rapidity of his utter- 
ance and the vivacity of his being. The former is slow 
in his speech, as the spiritual must come to him before 
he can utter it ; the latter speaks as fast as he thinks. 

While Anglicans are slow in their utterance of im- 
material things, they are quick in that of material 



Influx and Efflux 137 

things ; while Germans are quick in their utterance of 
immaterial things, they are slow in that of material 
things. 

In saying " this is a beautiful house " an Anglican 
will utter the word " beautiful " slowly, the word 
" house " rapidly ; a German, in saying " Das ist ein 
schoenes Haus," will utter the word " schoenes " rap- 
idly, that of " Haus " slowly. 

In words in which material and immaterial factors 
are blended, as in " man," an Anglican, with whom the 
material predominates, utters the first half of the word 
rapidly, the division of the word being in the middle 
of its vowel sound, " a " ; its last part slowly, but with 
stress or emphasis. Hence his utterance is from a 
fall to a rise, or jambic. A German, with whom the 
spiritual predominates, utters the first part of the word 
" Mann " slowly, but with stress or emphasis, its last 
part rapidly. Hence his utterance is from a rise to 
a fall, or trochaic ; the division, as stated, being always 
in the middle of the vowel sound accompanying each 
syllable. 

The " intonation " is also confirmatory of these ob- 
servations. Anglo-Saxons, who speak from abdomen 
to thorax (which is the reason so many teachers among 
them aver that the abdomen is the seat of the voice), 
utter the last part of the word " man " with emphasis ; 
the spiritual being the most essential and carrying with 
it the intonation. They inspire into the abdomen and 
expire from the thorax. 

Germans, who speak from thorax to abdomen, utter 
the first part of the syllable " Mann " with emphasis, 
coming as it does from the thorax and carrying the 



138 Duality of Thought and Language 

intonation. They inspire into the thorax and expire 
from the abdomen. 

These matters can be tested by experiment. When 
you place your hand on the top of your head while 
speaking the English word " man " you will be able 
to utter the first part of the syllable, but not the last ; 
while under the same circumstances uttering the Ger- 
man word " Mann," you will be able to utter its last, 
but not its first part ; the abdomen and every other part 
located beneath the diaphragm always representing 
the material, the thorax and every other part located 
above the diaphragm, the immaterial part of words. 
The result will be the reverse when the pressure is 
applied to the opposite part of the body, the perinseum. 

A purely material word, like stone, iron, etc., can- 
not be uttered at all while obstructing the perinaeum 
or making the same rigid*; while a purely spiritual 
word, like honor, beauty, mind, etc., cannot be uttered 
when the top of the cranium is thus obstructed or made 
rigid. 

- This being a study of the most extensive ramifica- 
tions, every class of words presenting different spirit- 
ual and material aspects, I cannot enter into it more 
fully at the present time, but trust I may be able to 
again revert to it in the future. 

Thought and speech complement each other. What 
we think materially is sustained immaterially, what we 
think immaterially is sustained materially. That is 
to say, when the impression is made in a material 
manner, or from a material object, the expression 
comes from the abdomen, but is sustained by the 
thorax; when the impression is made in an imma- 



Influx and Efflux 139 

terial manner, or from an immaterial object, the ex- 
pression comes from the thorax, but is sustained by 
the abdomen. 

Every thought or impression being made by either 
a material agency complemented by an immaterial or 
an immaterial complemented by a material ; thus every 
vocal expression is a representative of our dual nature. 

With thought not vocally uttered, a precisely simi- 
lar order prevails. We are thus moved by eternal 
laws which influence us in all our acts, thoughts and 
utterances. These laws, however, are so pliable (simi- 
lar to those which govern electricity) that we change 
them while they influence us, and we influence them 
while they change us. We can raise ourselves upon 
their wings to the highest ; we can descend upon their 
downward course to the lowest. They can be made 
use of both beneficently and perniciously. 

All of the preceding conforms with the general 
principles laid down by Kant regarding a priori and a 
posteriori knowledge. 

A priori knowledge may be either spiritually im- 
bedded in us or coming to us in conformity with a 
person's nationality. It is imbedded in the German; 
it comes to the Anglo-Saxon. Hence the abstract, 
transcendental reasoning of the German, the concrete 
of the Anglo-Saxon mind. 

If the facts as stated did not really obtain we could 
not have a language in which we could express our 
thoughts. Memory represents the concentrated func- 
tion of a priori and a posteriori knowledge, of that 
which is imbedded in us spiritually and comes to us 
by experience, or vice versa. If memory were not thus 



i4° Duality of Thought and Language 

constituted it could never grasp and offer to our use 
at a moment's notice all the problems of a highly ad- 
vanced and complicated language. 

That the concrete, the real, which we acquire 
through our senses, should be the first motive with 
the Anglo-Saxon mind, is shown by every character- 
istic trait of Anglo-Saxon nations pointing to this fact. 
That, on the other hand, the abstract and ideal should 
be the first motive power with the German mind is 
also proven by the general characteristic qualities of 
Germanic nations. 



IS THERE LOGICALLY SUCH A THING AS 
A MATERIAL OBJECT? 

When we come to closely look into the question 
mooted in the preceding chapters, we arrive at the 
extraordinary proposition that matter has no proper 
standing of its own, but that it owes its existence to 
the influence of spiritual qualities closely interwoven 
with and allied to it. It consequently owes what it 
appears to be, the phenomenon, not so much to inher- 
ent qualifications of a material, as to qualifications of a 
spiritual nature. Hence the material has no existence 
except by grace of the spiritual. 

In describing a material thing we do so by its 
qualities, for in that way alone can we arrive at a 
proper understanding of what a person by his 
description wants to convey to our mind. Qualities, 
however, are not so much of a material as of a spiritual 
nature. 



Is There a Material Object? 141 

The spiritual is constant and eternal. It may apply 
to a thousand forms or phenomena vastly differing 
from one another in their appearance, time, location 
and circumstance, yet the qualifying description there- 
of, in principle, always remains the same. Beauty is 
always beautiful, ugliness ugly. They may differ in 
proportion, and vary in impressiveness in connection 
with the individuality of the beholder, but in principle 
they are always the same. The material things these 
spiritual qualities apply to, however, never are just the 
same, one leaf of one and the same tree not being just 
the same as any other ; one hair of a man's head never 
being precisely the same as another. 

Take away the qualities, and what remains? A 
nondescript, an impossible thing. The spiritual de- 
scribes and confines a thing as to its size, or the space 
it displaces ; its color and shade, the fineness or coarse- 
ness of its fibres, texture or grain; its smoothness or 
roughness ; the porousness or compactness of its com- 
penent materials ; the purity or impurity of its surface ; 
the brightness or dulness of its appearance ; the artistic 
or inartistic mode of its construction, and a thousand 
other qualifications in phenomena as they present them- 
selves to our view. Take this glass which is before 
me : It rests on a table ; it is hollow, fragile, transpar- 
ent, round, and smooth on its inner side, cut on its 
outer; its rim is polished; its size is big. Take away 
these qualities and what remains? 

When it comes to living things the qualifications 
vastly increase. In these we have, besides the qualifi- 
cations just described and many more of a similar na- 
ture, qualifications of the mind of a purely spiritual 



H 2 Duality of Thought and Language 

nature, as thought; not immediately connected with 
matter or inherent therein, but nevertheless confined to 
phenomena or entities gifted with life. These quali- 
fications, more especially abstract thought, are of an 
order of which we become conscious not through the 
senses, but in a purely immaterial or spiritual way. 
The vital and spiritual properties which characterize 
living entities, and among them more especially man, 
are of so multiform a nature that it is but requisite to 
mention them to at once make us conscious of the fact 
that to deprive them thereof is equal to robbing them 
of everything that is characteristic of their nature. 

Take away from a thing its size, its color and 
shade, its fineness or coarseness, its smoothness or 
roughness, its transparency or opaqueness, its porous- 
ness or compactness, its elasticity or brittleness, its 
purity or impurity, its brightness or dulness, its ar- 
tistic or inartistic qualifications, its beauty or ugliness, 
and a thousand other things of an analogous nature, 
and what remains? In other words, deprive the ma- 
terial of its immaterial or spiritual qualifications, for 
all these are spiritual, as we do not become conscious 
of them except by their effect; I say, take away all 
these, and will there remain anything by which we 
can recognize them ? Does there remain anything but 
a conglomerate mass of material elements? 

I even doubt the possibility of the existence of ma- 
terial elements, unless surrounded and sustained by 
immaterial qualifications. Material elements are not 
entities of an indissoluble and constant nature; on 
the contrary, they are composed of atoms, and these 
atoms are again endlessly divisible. They are of the 



Is There a Material Object? 143 

most varied nature, and in many instances are con- 
vertible from a gaseous to a solid condition and vice 
versa. They occupy space and require time for their 
development. Space and time, however, are imma- 
terial; hence material elements are subject to immate- 
rial or spiritual influences and have no positive stand- 
ing of their own ; the very fact of their passing under 
certain conditions from one state into another also be- 
ing of a semi-spiritual nature. While material phe- 
nomena are both in time and space, purely spiritual 
phenomena, as abstract thought are apparently, 
neither in time nor space. 

It does not seem possible for the phenomenon 
" man " to fully comprehend the essence of the phe- 
nomena which surround him and of which he becomes 
conscious. Should man, however, ever succeed in 
comprehending himself, " the proper study of man- 
kind being man," this most complex of all phenomena, 
we may take it for granted that the knowledge thereby 
gained would enable him to comprehend all other 
phenomena. 

Not being able to comprehend his own mystery, it 
would seem to be a fallacious undertaking on his part 
to attempt to comprehend the mystery beyond his 
mystery, so glibly talked about by the unwise as " the 
knowledge of God." Why go beyond ourselves, there- 
fore, in our attempt at comprehending? Are not we 
mysterious enough? 

I am not unaware of the fact, however, that to 
some of my statements there may be serious objection; 
some of the qualifications which I have designated as 
immaterial or spiritual being indissolubly connected 



H4 Duality of Thought and Language 

with material phenomena. It will be said that the 
shape of a thing, it being straight, or crooked or 
bent; its lustre or dulness; its smoothness or rough- 
ness; its porousness or compactness, etc., are qualities 
which cannot be thought of by themselves, but only in 
connection with material things to which they apply. 
Granted this to be true, there is then an association of 
the immaterial with the material in these matters. The 
idea represented by the word " shape " cannot be said 
to be material ; on the other hand it is not immaterial, 
as it applies only to material things; yet take away 
a thing's shape, what remains? 

On the other hand, while material phenomena con- 
stantly differ, and in their precise form are never re- 
peated, the " idea " represented by their qualifications 
always remains the same, straightness always being 
straight, crookedness crooked, brightness bright, dul- 
ness dull, etc., and in this sense they certainly partake 
of a spiritual nature. 

Yet I have previously spoken of the " constancy " 
of nature in its material phenomena, taking the tongue 
as an example ; not only man's tongue, but the tongue 
of every other living entity partaking of the same 
qualifications. These qualities, however, are of a 
general and not a particular nature, every tongue as 
a matter of fact in some respects differing from every 
other tongue. Now, what are these differences to be 
attributed to? To spiritual influences, which, though 
of the same order always in a general sense, influence 
individual entities differently in conformity with their 
individual character. Postulating, then, that " living 
entities " owe their existence to spiritual influences to 



Is There a Material Object? 145 

a far higher degree than to material ingredients com- 
posing their bodies, does not the idea commend itself 
to our understanding, that the spirit, which must have 
been first in existence, formed unto itself a body to 
be subservient to it and conform to the status of its 
own being, its own requirements and possibilities? 
That the body is but the executive branch of the law- 
making power of the spirit? That our spirit requires 
a body to do its bidding? And that when that duty 
has been performed it is dismissed? 

Does it not further seem plain that the spirit thus 
uses the body for the purpose of giving expression to 
its wants and desires in that physio-psychical manner 
of thought utterance called speech, song, etc.? For, 
while the body is bound, the spirit is free and unfet- 
tered and uses its " instrument " for the expression 
of its wants in the same manner as an artist uses a 
musical instrument. 

This mode of reasoning may justly be called "spir- 
itualistic monism " ; yet we cannot deny the existence 
of the body and the correlative influence exercised by 
body upon mind and mind upon body. Hence the 
former, though theoretically true, must be abandoned 
in practice. For the purposes of practical knowledge 
and experience and the benefit to be derived from their 
study, which may be called " applied metaphysics/' we 
must sink theory into practice and deal with a dual and 
not a single form of existence, in which the spiritual, 
however, is supreme and exercises a preponderating 
influence over the apparently material. 



i4 6 Duality of Thought and Language 

LANGUAGE A LIVING SPIRITUAL 
ORGANISM. 

While " material " words represent lifeless things 
of which we become conscious through our senses, 
" immaterial " words represent ideas of an abstract 
order. The rules just set forth hold good for all lan- 
guages. Not so in regard to words of a material-im- 
material order, or words representing living things, 
which present features of a wide range of observation. 
I have heretofore spoken of the anode and cathode of 
vocal sounds, the former representing material, the 
latter immaterial issues. 1 The correctness of the as- 
sertions then made can be positively determined in 
connection with the utterance of words representing 
living things. A living thing is of dual nature, it is 
both material and spiritual. Now, living things not 
only comprise plants and animals of every description, 
and, of course, man, but many other things, as, f. i., 
vocal sounds and words which, as I have shown, 
participate in the principles of life. Language, com- 
posed as it is of vocal sounds and words, and being an 
outcome of man's body and soul, is a living organism, 
being itself composed of living elements which are 
subject to the same general laws as other living things. 
If this were not the case, language, instead of being a 
living organism, as I aver, capable of adapting itself 
to and assuming an endless variety of spiritual-ma- 
terial forms, would be inert and incapable of repre- 
senting, as it does, all things of which we become 
cognizant. 

1 See "Duality of Voice," page 103, etc. 



Language a Spiritual Organism 147 

I say this in direct contradistinction to the asser- 
tions of philologists, and beg to quote from Prof. Max 
Mueller's " Science of Thought," page 184, the follow- 
ing as to their standpoint : 

"Although every root may be reduced to at least 
one consonant and one vowel, these consonants and 
vowels are simply the materials but not the elements 
of language; they have, in fact, no real independent 
existence; they are nothing but the inventions of 
grammarians, and their combination would only give 
rise to meaningless sounds, never to significant roots. 
We know that roots are simple, that they cannot and 
should not be decomposed, and that consonants and 
vowels are lifeless and meaningless materials, etc." 

This is the soulless standpoint which the science 
and philosophy of the present age occupies regarding 
things that cannot be perceived through the senses. 
My work has been a research beyond roots. I have 
entered upon the investigation of the being of these 
" lifeless and meaningless materials," consonants and 
vowels, forming the " roots " of the philologists, which 
the latter regard as the units upon which a correct 
system of the essence of language alone can be built. 
My merit, if I have any, is this going beyond the 
boundary of science; beyond the point where science 
has come to an insurmountable barrier. 

Language is not only the living representative of 
all things of which we become conscious, but it ap- 
pears to me that its words in their origin and mode 
of coming into existence, pass through phases similar 
to those which the things they represent pass through. 
As man in his embryonic state, as scientists aver, 



H 8 Duality of Thought and Language 

traverses the entire range of phases (beginning with the 
moneron) that through endless ages finally lead up to 
man, so it may not be impossible that words, which rep- 
resent all things, may have originally come into being 
in a somewhat similar manner. 

At any rate, I can to some extent explain how 
words representing living things are created, and from 
that standpoint this wider range of thought may be 
deduced. 

Postulating that the soul has been in existence 
before its body, and that man's cell from its first in- 
cipience is, and always has been, of dual nature, and 
that words, or rather groups of words, representing 
groups of ideas, are inherent in special parts of man's 
body, truths of which in my mind there cannot be any 
doubt; it appears to me that the physical develop- 
ment of the cell, from its unicellular beginning as a 
living entity, in its gradual advancement and evolu- 
tion up to man, has been accompanied by a parallel 
development of vital and spiritual forces and the ex- 
pression thereof through a language. 

This, of course, is not assuming that there has 
been a conscious language with any individual living 
being before the estate of man was reached, but that 
the bodily development of each stage of progression 
was accompanied by a similar development of the 
spirit, which found expression in what might be called 
a language, as adapted to the condition of every such 
stage. Even when such language was not, and is not 
now expressed by sounds, as in the case of fishes, it 
is nevertheless apt to exist and to manifest itself in 
some other way. Language, which represents our spir- 



Language a Spiritual Organism 149 

itual existence, is a phenomenon at least quite as com- 
plicated and wonderful in its construction as that of 
our body. If it required a course of gradual develop- 
ment to produce the latter, does it not appear likely 
that it should have taken an equal length of time to 
have produced the former? 

This assumption is also subject to the thought 
previously expressed, that for a long period there was 
no language whose integral parts consisted of words, 
even with man, but that during this time his entire 
expression consisted in mere sounds subject to the 
idiomatic impression which had been made upon him 
by the surrounding elements of nature, and which for- 
ever thereafter pervaded his language as its soul. 
Hence words, the body of language, only came into 
use a long time after an idiomatic expression had 
already pervaded man's being. In thus pervading 
the being of a group of people such group was consti- 
tuted a nation possessing an idiomatic expression and 
a language of its own. 

Life being complicated, the production of a 
word representing a living thing is similarly compli- 
cated. 

I have heretofore pointed out that Anglo-Saxons 
are rooted in the material and reach the spiritual by 
way of the material, while Germans are rooted in the 
spiritual and reach the material by way of the spiritual. 
This signifies that in the production of the German 
language a spiritual factor, as the preponderating, 
fuses with a material ; while in the production of the 
English language a material factor, as the preponder- 
ating, fuses with a spiritual one. In thus fusing, the 



iSo Duality of Thought and Language 

same as with the fusion of a positive and negative 
electrical factor, the thought, or the spoken word, like 
a flash, make their appearance. 

Now let us once more take as an example the 
word " man." When properly uttered it is pronounced 
ma-an. The first part of this syllable is its anode, 
the last part its cathode; the former representing 
material, the latter spiritual issues ; the material first, 
the spiritual last. 

With the German word " Mann," however, pro- 
nounced ma-ann, the cathode comes first, the anode 
last; the former representing spiritual, the latter ma- 
terial issues, the spiritual preceding the material; the 
spiritual in the word always being represented by the 
intonation. 

Hence you can notice, while enunciating the Eng- 
lish word " man," upon pressing the abdomen you will 
be unable to pronounce the first half of the syllable 
" ma " but you may pronounce its last half "-an " ; 
when pressing the thorax you will be unable to utter 
the last half " -an," but you may utter the first half 
ma-. 

A German, on the other hand, with whom the first 
half originates in the thorax and the last half in the 
abdomen, upon pressing his abdomen will be unable 
to pronounce the last half " -ann," while he can pro- 
nounce the first half " ma-" ; when pressing the thorax 
he will be unable to utter the first half " ma-," but he 
can utter the last half " -ann." 

I have already spoken of these matters in connec- 
tion with pressures produced on the scalp and the 
perinaeum. I beg to reiterate, however, that I have 



Language a Spiritual Organism 151 

written upon these subjects at various periods during 
the last ten years, and cannot now condense these 
theses and systematize them without a very great loss 
of time. I therefore produce them as originally writ- 
ten, which I trust will not require any further apology. 
Examples showing different phases of this cy- 
clorama of the " living " world, as spiritually repre- 
sented by words, could be cited endlessly, each shake 
of the box of the kaleidoscope in which such words 
are contained showing a different aspect, though the 
principle underlying all is of the same order. Volumes 
might be filled with them; but I must go on, for the 
present, though I expect to enter at greater detail 
upon these matters later on. 

While thorax, abdomen and pelvis are the three 
spheres representing words whose respective meaning 
is of a spiritual, a material, and a material-spiritual 
order, these three orders are subdivided into classes, 
which are represented by organs or vessels located in 
these spheres. 

There is nothing accidental or arbitrary in our 
mode of thinking or vocally uttering thought. Every 
utterance comes from a different sphere and a different 
receptacle in such sphere. It is a set of machinery of a 
very complex nature, but there is perfect order in its 
complexity. 

The production of words may in a manner be ex- 
emplified by the preparation of a medicine in a drug 
store. The apothecary knows where to look for its 
various ingredients, according to classes and their 
various subdivisions, and deftly sends his fingers into 



1 52 Duality of Thought and Language 

one after another and then binds them together by- 
means of distilled water. Thus to construct a word 
or a sentence, we first gather the vowel sound belong- 
ing to the first syllable and group around it the con- 
sonants appertaining thereto. To this, if the word is 
composed of more than one syllable, we attach others 
in the same manner. Before thus composing a word, 
however, we get the idea it represents from its special 
receptacle, and in so doing infuse its " spirit " into it, 
which is represented by its intonation, and which is 
equal to our distilled water, as it is the agency which 
makes all the rest cohesive and joins them together 
into an entity. When our utterance is of an artistic 
order, rhythm, measure or time, and emphasis are ad- 
ditional factors which demand equal attention and 
consideration. All this is done instantaneously, ap- 
parently, yet there must be this measure of time in 
every instance, though unnoticed, except when the 
performance is of an artistic order. 

The " intonation " equal to the meaning or spirit- 
ual nature of the word, in the first instance, is a 
product of the sphere, and in the second, of the hem- 
isphere to which it belongs ; in the third, of the vessel 
located in such hemisphere; and in the last, of that 
part of such vessel to which it belongs in conformity 
with its more particular, meaning. 

When speaking about these matters in a former 
publication I placed " accent " and " intonation " under 
the same heading. This should not have been done, 
especially in view of the fact that I had traced the 
accent or stress to the abdomen, where it undoubtedly 
belongs, while the " intonation," in a manner, is an 



Language a Spiritual Organism 153 

outcome of our entire being. To the four elements of 
speech which I then named, viz. : measure or time, 
rhythm, accent and emphasis, we must therefore add 
" intonation " as a fifth element. 

The analytical chemist is constantly adding " new " 
elements to those heretofore recognized as such. Thus 
" new " elements have of late been added to the com- 
position of the air. I also have added " new " ele- 
ments to the air, but they are not those of the chemist ; 
no tongue can taste them, no sight see them, no hand 
touch them, no scale weigh them. They are imponder- 
able, spiritual. 

These immaterial elements of the air form a com- 
bination with other immaterial elements, which have 
their seat in material parts of the body, and in so doing 
create dualities, which, when embodied into vocal 
sound, become fundamental parts of vocal utterance. 

Groups of words, as stated, have their physio- 
psychical origin in various parts of the viscera; these 
parts are related to corresponding parts of the brain 
and come to the surface in corresponding parts of the 
oral cavity. While I have thus succeeded in tracing 
a number of groups of thought and of words of a ma- 
terial and a material-spiritual order with considerable 
accuracy to material sources in the abdomen and the 
pelvis, I have made but comparatively slight progress 
in tracing groups of words or thought of a purely 
spiritual or abstract nature to their material origin in 
special parts of the thorax. They are not so readily 
traceable, partly owing to the fact that the thorax is 
incased in an armor, so to say, while the abdomen 
is elastic and freely accessible ; still, if I had sufficient 



154 Duality of Thought and Language 

time at my disposal to devote to this task, I think I 
could also locate these with greater accuracy than I 
have thus far been able to do. 

The knowledge of the exact location of words is 
imparted to me by my ability or respective inability 
to pronounce a word in its entire purity. I first en- 
deavor to ascertain what group a word belongs to, 
then try and find its location. I find the latter by press- 
ing the respective spot or by making it rigid ; as long as 
I can utter the word, after producing a pressure or 
making such part rigid, I have not hit upon its location. 
As soon as I come near the location I find difficulty in 
uttering the word, and when I actually hit upon it my 
ability to utter the word absolutely ceases. 

When I have finally located a word I cease press- 
ing the part or making it rigid, and then, by centring 
my thought upon its location, I can utter it with a 
clearness and distinction far surpassing any ordinary 
effort. 

The process of finding the location is not unlike the 
pastime sometimes indulged in in company, when one 
person is sent out of the room, and in his absence an 
object is hid in some place where he is to find it. While 
he is seeking for it, and as a guide to him, the sounds 
of the piano are played softest when he is a distance 
away from it, and louder when he approaches the spot. 
The sounds of the piano in this instance being the 
greater or less ability to utter the word distinctly. 

I have thus far positively traced to the liver words 
belonging to the house and household, together with 
everything that makes up the contents of a domicile. 
Everything constituting a house proper finds its ex- 



Language a Spiritual Organism 155 

pression in the liver. This, however, is the case only 
when we think of objects as being in the house and 
belonging to it. 

Everything which constitutes a person's wearing 
apparel has its seat in the pancreas. Here again we 
must think of such article always as being upon a per- 
son or intended to be worn by him. The articles them- 
selves apart from the person have not the same origin. 
In these two groups of ideas consequently are com- 
prised all things that belong to man's habitation and 
dress. 

I cannot utter words belonging to these groups 
with the same perfection as when I think of them as 
emanating from these respective organs. 

I have not yet devoted sufficient time to other 
classes of words, which have their origin in the ab- 
domen, as to be able to make positive statements in re- 
lation thereto, though I have come very near being able 
to do so in several instances. 

The pelvis is the most important of the three 
spheres for the production of vocal utterance. Vocal 
teachers constantly speak of " deep " breathing, and 
correctly so, as being of great importance in voice pro- 
duction. This deep breathing does not pertain to the 
thorax, as is generally assumed, but as a matter of 
fact relates to breathing into and out of the abdomen 
and the pelvis, which is constantly, though uncon- 
sciously, carried on by every living person and every 
other mammal. I presume all the vertebrates partake 
in this process. The pelvis being the seat of the repro- 
ductive organs, and hence of life, is also the main seat 
in a physio-psychical sense of the force creative of that 



156 Duality of Thought and Language 

symbolic representation of the phenomena of human 
life denominated vocal utterance. 

Just how we breathe into and out of the pelvis I 
expect to satisfactorily explain in a future volume. 

I have shown that every part of man's body is 
divine, and have thus raised the standard of our human 
existence to a higher level. To do this I was obliged, 
though reluctantly, to enter upon phases of our being 
usually withheld from the public gaze. So far but 
little has been said upon these subjects, but I shall 
have to enter upon them more fully hereafter. 

Teachers of physiology, psychology, vocal utterance, 
etc., are " doctors of the mind," and lessons of the 
mind, as far as the exercise of our faculties is con- 
cerned, cannot be properly taught apart from lessons 
of the body. 

Physicians make a study of the entire body in a 
material way, being absolutely necessary in the exer- 
cise of their profession. The physician of the mind, 
the teacher, who wants to arrive at correct principles 
regarding the exercise of any of our faculties, will in 
the future be obliged to make a study of all parts of 
the body in a spiritual way ; the fact having been estab- 
lished that body and mind must act together in the 
exercise of any of our faculties, or gifts, more espe- 
cially the gift denominated vocal utterance in any 
and all of its features. As body and mind must 
act together to establish the phenomenon of a living 
human being, so they must act in unison for the pur- 
pose of exercising any of his faculties. As long as 
science deals separately with body and mind no correct 
principles can ever be established. 



Attraction and Repulsion 157 

It does not appear to me, however, as necessary, 
for vocal teachers or psychologists to make a detailed 
study of the anatomy of the human body, as to become 
possessed of a general idea thereof. Even this knowl- 
edge will be of little benefit unless it is made use of 
for the study of the influence which the spirit exercises 
upon the relation and correspondence of the different 
parts and systems among each other. In other words, 
we must know how the spirit moves and influences the 
different parts of the great machinery mechanically 
constituting a human being in order to make a homo- 
geneous living entity out of the same, and in so doing 
enabling it to exercise its various gifts and faculties; 
particularly also, and which at this juncture is of more 
especial interest to us, how the spirit exercises its in- 
fluence in the production of language. 



ATTRACTION AND REPULSION. 

What has been said in the preceding is explanatory 
of the phenomenon presented by the congenital deaf 
when awakened from their lethargic state through the 
knowledge and comprehension of language. It is 
caused by the slumbering material factors in the ani- 
mal ego coming in contact and fusing with spiritual 
factors of the outside world, or the slumbering imma- 
terial factors in the ego coming in contact and fusing 
with material factors in the outside world, as the case 
may be, and quickening their life into the comprehen- 
sion of spiritual things. 

This capacity of man, consisting in the fusion of 



i5 8 Duality of Thought and Language 

innate, transcendental factors with outside concrete 
ones, or the reverse, as the case may be, is the main 
characteristic quality which distinguishes him, and at 
the same time separates him from mere animals. The 
latter are confined to their individuality, to man be- 
longs the universe. I positively repudiate as unworthy 
the expression " the lower animals " now so frequently 
used in juxtaposition with man. Man's faculties place 
him far beyond any other creature and show that he 
is not only possessed of divine qualities, but that he 
is of divine origin. The expression " animals of a 
lower order," by which man is represented as an 
"animal of a higher order," is a calumny upon the 
latter. He represents an order of his own ; though in 
many respects related to animals, in others he pre- 
sents features of an order quite apart from them. 

The essence of language, when properly under- 
stood, and more especially the " word," are the truest 
exponents of our spiritual life. 

To this outer and inner, the a priori and a pos- 
teriori, the abstract and concrete, that which is limited 
to the ego and that which concerns the world beyond 
it, I have repeatedly called attention as " ingoing and 
outgoing " sounds and words, emanating from the 
trachea and the oesophagus, or the reverse, as the case 
may be. He who thoroughly comprehends this process 
(which represents our dual nature), and in compre- 
hending it gains control over it, the exercise of oratory 
and song in all their bearings and highest qualifica- 
tions become matters subject to his will. 

What this " ingoing and outgoing " as a matter of 
fact is, — that is the mystery. The outgoing is what 



Attraction and Repulsion 159 

is transcendentally imbedded in the German language 
and being, the ingoing is what is transcendentally im- 
bedded in the English language and being. 

It may be an atmosphere surrounding and belong- 
ing to every individual, which, while separating him, 
connects him with other individuals and the world ; an 
atmosphere which is peculiar to every individual's dis- 
tinctive characteristic idiosyncracy and makes its in- 
fluence known to us as attraction or repulsion in con- 
nection with other individuals. For my part, I think 
it is connected with that mysterious agency known to 
us as electro-magnetism, with its constantly shifting 
poles correlatively influencing and being influenced by 
atomic and molecular attractive and repulsive forces. 
This psycho-electro-magnetic influence is not only 
permanently and positively imbedded in us, but also 
surrounds us and thus pervades our entire being in- 
teriorly and exteriorly. It is of the same order as the 
mysterious " astral " body of which spiritualists speak 
as permeating the entire physical body and surviving 
the latter as a perfect spiritual counterpart thereof. 



PERCEPTION AND CONCEPTION. 

AN Anglo-Saxon first perceives and then conceives, 
a German first conceives and then perceives. Of 
this dual action an Anglo-Saxon consequently first be- 
comes conscious of the real and then of the ideal, a 
German first becomes conscious of the ideal and then 
of the real. 

When in my English mood I picture to myself a 
carriage, a horse and a driver, I see these objects dis- 
tinctly before I become conscious of the fact of the 
three acting together to produce easy locomotion for 
a person inside the vehicle. While in my German 
mood, I become conscious of the action first and the 
details afterwards. 

Or, I may picture to myself a child falling into the 
water and a man rescuing the same. If in my English 
mood, I will see these facts in detail and then become 
conscious of a good deed. When in my German mood 
I first become conscious of a good deed and then only 
recognize the details thereof. Thus Germans take in 
the entire situation, every detail contributing to form a 
complete picture ; while Anglicans see separate objects 
and then combine them into a whole. The latter thus 
see objects in clear outlines, the former see them as in 
a haze fusing with their surroundings. These facts are 

160 



Perception and Conception 161 

quite perceptible in connection with the art of painting, 
more especially of landscape painting. In a landscape 
painted by an American, as a rule, objects stand out 
clear and well defined; in one painted by a German 
earth, sky and atmosphere melt into one ; in one painted 
by a Frenchman, notably one of the Barbizon school, 
this feeling is intensified by being confined to fewer 
objects — a clump of trees, or a single tree even, water 
and a bit of sky. 

Anglo-Saxons, while painting, open their eyes wide, 
looking straight and clear at their object; Germans 
close theirs to some extent, seeing their objects in 
somewhat of a haze ; while Frenchmen close theirs still 
more, embracing a narrower scope, but with intense 
feeling. Anglo-Saxons paint from the exterior in- 
wardly, Germans from the interior outwardly. 

When riding through some beautiful part of this 
country I am shocked by the many signs advertising 
ever so many " dreadful " things ; my German nature 
revolts against this sight, which, mingling with 
the landscape, blurs it and prevents me from one 
moment's real enjoyment thereof. An Anglo- 
Saxon, however, seeing these things singly, can 
shut the signs out from the landscape and enjoy 
the latter by itself and without being greatly 
disturbed by the sight thereof. He will never see 
the poesy of the landscape in its entirety, however, as 
a German does. Not for a single day would Germans 
permit their country to be used as an advertising sheet 
for nauseous medicines, covering entire barns and 
houses, merchandise of every description, eatables, and 
what not, for miles and miles in procession along the 



1 62 Duality of Thought and Language 

most frequented routes, and even spreading out their 
horrors unblushingly in the most sequestered spots, 
which nature seemed to have specially reserved for 
itself as shrines of devotion for its most favored chil- 
dren among men. There is no mountain too high, no 
ravine too deep, no river too grand, no brook or valley 
too charmingly poetic to prevent the greed of man from 
setting up his "shop" right in their midst. The only 
sign I noticed along the banks of the river Rhine was 
that of an American food product. 

Yet an American can still admire here undisturbed, 
where a German will turn away his eyes in utter dis- 
may and disgust. If this were not the case these dese- 
crations would not and could not continue to exist 
from day to day, from year to year, where they are 
most apt to " catch the eye " of the traveller, unblush- 
ingly regardless even of those among them whose souls 
are thirsting for the beauty of nature in undisturbed 
meditation. 

The first part of a dual action is always the leading 
and prevailing one; thus with Germans the abstract 
prevails over the concrete, with Anglo-Saxons the con- 
crete over the abstract. If these peoples would bear this 
clearly in mind, many obstacles now in the way of an 
amicable understanding between them would be cleared 
away through a better comprehension of their respec- 
tive characters and consequent actions under the same 
circumstances. The final conclusion would be that 
they are nations which should not so much aim at rival- 
ing with each other as at complementing one another. 
Each taking advantage of the other's proficiencies 
would be filling up a gap which is wanting in their own 



Perception and Conception 163 

composition and consequent accomplishment. To bring 
this about the erroneous idea of their being closely re- 
lated, in fact being kith and kin, must first be aban- 
doned, after which a clearer comprehension may be 
arrived at. 

I have heretofore stated that the idiomatic expres- 
sion of the English nation was the original product of 
the action and commotion of the waves of the ocean, 
by which their country was surrounded. 

In prehistoric times this language was probably 
confined to expressions of the most primitive nature. 
When the Angles and Saxons came, their crude 
original expression gave way to the language and 
words used by these invaders, but being a people 
of a realistic turn of mind, and not yet ripe for 
expressions of an abstract order of things, they learned 
from them only such words as were used to designate 
things of use, of home, the acre, and of a realistic pur- 
port generally. These words, however, in being 
adopted from the German, were first subjected to these 
aborigines' idiomatic form of expression; only much 
later, after the more refined French came among them, 
they became acquainted with those abstract expressions 
of language which denote the higher standards of 
knowledge and culture in a nation. 

Thus with them the words expressive of perception, 
the real, which was also the dominant feature in their 
character, came first, and were derived from the 
German ; words expressive of the concepts, the ideal, 
came afterwards and were mostly derived from 
the French. All of these expressions, however, as 
heretofore shown, were submitted to their idiom be- 



1 64 Duality of Thought and Language 

fore they could become integral parts of the English 
language. 

An outcome of all this is a singular mode of intona- 
tion the English put upon words, which strikes the 
observant foreigner as peculiar and almost incompre- 
hensible. So at least it was with me at first and for 
many years, until I arrived at a comprehension thereof 
through these studies. 

When you hear an Englishman speak of 

Westminster Abbey, London Bridge, Hyde Park, 
or an American of 

Fifth Avenue, North River, Newyork 
and a German, on the other hand, of the 

Thiergarten, the National Gallerie, the Kaiserliche- 
Schloss, the Wartburg, etc., 

you will see at once that the Anglo-Saxon puts the 
stress upon the thing itself, the abbey, the bridge, the 
park, the avenue, the river, the city, etc., while the 
German puts it on that which defines it, the Thier, the 
National, the Kaiserliche, the Wart, etc. 

Anglo-Saxons put it upon realistic, Germans upon 
idealistic parts of speech. With the English it is jam- 
bic, with Germans trochaic. With the former it is 
centrifugal, it goes in and then out; with the latter 
centripetal, it goes out and then in. 

Anglo-Saxons put great stress upon the personal 
pronoun " I," which Germans utter with a half-sup- 
pressed expression. Not that the latter are less apt 
to assert themselves, but, according to their philoso- 



Perception and Conception 165 

phers, the " I " is rather a shadowy thing, which needs 
must be defined ; while with Anglo-Saxons it is a very 
positive factor, which asserts its existence beyond any 
other. This " I " of the Anglo-Saxon (which, with 
the exception of the pronouns which stand for the 
name of " God," is the only one he writes with a cap- 
ital letter, and which he pronounces with a particular 
stress), is characteristic of the entire race. With him 
everything is viewed with reference to his personal- 
ity; everything emanates from him; everything re- 
verts to him. Germans, on the other hand, are opti- 
mistic. They in fact often take a greater interest in 
things of an exterior or foreign nature than those 
belonging to themselves. This gives ordinary Anglo- 
Saxon conversation the flavor of one-sidedness and 
narrowness, that of educated Germans of an altru- 
istic and extensive nature. Other countries possess an 
interest for Anglo-Saxons but in so far as they per- 
tain to the sphere of their personal interests ; Germans 
are interested in them for their own sake. 

Other examples illustrating the preceding are : 

Rice-pudding, cherry-pie, apple sauce, hot-soup, 
strong-coffee, as against 

Reispudding, Kirschenkuchen, Heisse Suppe, 
Starker Kaffe, etc. 

Central Park, Broadway, Chestnut street, as against 

Central Hotel, Hauptwache, Kcenigstrasse. 

City Hall, Locomotive, Railroad, as against 
Rathhaus, Locomotive, Eisenbahn. 



1 66 Duality of Thought and Language 

Post-office, United States, United States Hotel, 
Gray uniform, as against 

Postgebaude, Nordamerica, Gasthaus, Graue Uni- 
form. 

Wunderbar shoen, herrliche Aussicht, as against 
Very pretty, fine view. 

Notice in these last sentences the exaltation in the 
one as against the quiet enjoyment in the other case. 

These are things which foreigners have to learn 
if they want to speak these languages in the same 
manner that native-born people utter them. 

These matters are at the same time characteristic 
of the national traits of these respective peoples. 



PHYSIO-PSYCHOLOGY. 

The power which drives the Anglo-Saxon system 
being centrifugal, Anglo-Saxon motion is indirect and 
in consequence thereof every action connected with 
speech more extended than with Germans. The nat- 
ural tendency with them being to have their mouth 
open, their motion for speech is close, open, close, 
open. In watching the motions of the mouth with 
Anglo-Saxons during speech and song, you will find 
that for words of the sphere of the thorax the oral 
cavity is but slightly extended, and that it extends 
proportionately more and more as the distance in- 
creases between the mouth and the seat of the origin 
of the words. It extends least for words of the sphere 



Physio-Psychology 1 67 

of the oral cavity, further for those of the thorax, 
still further for those of the abdomen, and most for 
those of the pelvis. 

In conformity with the centripetal power driving 
the German system, the tendency with Germans being 
to keep their mouths closed, every motion is direct, 
which for speech means open, close, open, every 
action being of proportionately smaller dimensions. 

For English speech you will observe that the least 
expansion of the mouth and the least motion is re- 
quired for words belonging to the sphere of the oral 
cavity, which words, though immaterial, cannot be said 
to be spiritual, consisting of words representing the 
article, the conjunction, the preposition, etc. 

Words having their origin next adjacent to the 
mouth, namely, those of the chest, require greater ex- 
pansion of the mouth and greater motion for their ex- 
pression. They are purely spiritual, as honor, soul, 
justice, charity, idea, beauty, etc. 

Words next in rotation are those of the abdomen, 
which are purely material. For their expression further 
expansion and still greater motion is required, as 
straw, wood, metal, floor, ceiling, brick, rock, ore, 
iron, etc. 

Then come those of the pelvis, which are both 
material and spiritual, for which the greatest muscular 
extension is required. This class embraces all things 
living, from the lowest vegetable growth to man. 

In addition to the four main classes here enumer- 
ated, namely, those of the head, representing words of 
an immaterial, but not " spiritual " order ; those of the 
thorax, representing words of a purely spiritual order ; 



1 68 Duality of Thought and Language 

those of the abdomen, representing words of a material 
order; those of the pelvis, representing words of a 
material-spiritual and spiritual-material order, I say, 
in addition to these there are words in whose meaning 
the action of more than one of these classes is included. 
For their expression the participation of two hemi- 
spheres, even three, may be required. 

Such words as yes, no; more, less; high, low; up, 
down ; belong to thorax and abdomen, in this way, that 
the first part of the words yes, more, high and up be- 
long to the thorax, their last part to the abdomen ; the 
division being, as usual, in the middle of their respect- 
ive vowel sounds; while with the words no, less, low, 
down, etc., the first part belongs to the abdomen, the 
last to the thorax. This can be easily tried. They can- 
not be uttered unless so produced. 

Regarding such words as newspaper, Times, Her- 
ald, periodical, magazine, book, lithograph, sheet- 
music, their first part belongs to the abdomen, their 
last to the thorax. They are spiritual-material. 
They are intended for a spiritual purpose, they are 
made of things material. To this class also belong 
the words, writing-paper, ink, pen, desk, bookcase, 
etc. Regarding the last two words, the shape which 
has been given to the material they are made of, may 
also be said to be of a spiritual or at least of an im- 
material order. For all these words in German the 
opposite order prevails. In words of a composite char- 
acter, such as I have called attention to in the last 
paragraph, as Broadway, Chestnut-street, Fifth-ave- 
nue, Post-office, Rail-road, etc., the first word is of 
the thorax, the last of the abdomen. The thing to be 



Physio-Psychology 169 

described — a street, an office, a road — being real, the 
descriptive word ideal. 

In pronouncing any word of this class the action 
is from the diaphragm upward for the first word, the 
ideal, and from the diaphragm downward for the 
seond word, the real. 

Everything I have said regarding these matters 
must be reversed for the German language. 

Composite words, in this sense, that their first part 
belongs to one and their second part to another hemi- 
sphere, are never pronounced correctly by foreigners. 
They are great stumbling-blocks in their way to a 
perfect pronunciation, insomuch as the attack, by 
which muscles are moved in a given order in different 
languages, never is the same. While English thought 
in many of such composite words is first material and 
then spiritual, German thought is first spiritual and 
then material. Unless these matters are well under- 
stood, speech, and, above all, song, can never be ren- 
dered absolutely pure in a foreign language, and with 
many also in their own language. 

In regard to song, the action is both physiological 
and psychological. It is first of the manner as here 
stated for speech, but subconsciously and without ut- 
terance, and is then of the reverse order consciously. 

I should like to have this perfectly understood, as 
the principles underlying this action will help singers 
more than anything I can think of. 

Singers instead of counting one, two, three, as for 
speech, which represent impression, repression and 
expression, must count up to six, representing impres- 
sion, repression, expression — expression, repression, 



170 Duality of Thought and Language 

impression ; the last three being spiritual, or the proper 
mode of being tuned for song utterance. They may 
also count successively up to six and then, after a short 
pause, add seven, eight; this will still more enhance 
their power, as the two last counts once more reverse 
the entire process, thus doubling up the vibrations 
which have been set in motion. This counting, how- 
ever, must be of the inner, not the outer nature, else 
it will be ineffectual. 

Regarding the application of the psychological 
aspect of these matters to song, it will be well to re- 
member that for English speech the percept, that is, 
the thing itself, is always of the first, the concept, its 
description, of the second order. For English song, 
however, this order is reversed. 

It is necessary to think of the descriptive part first 
and of the thing to be described afterwards. 

F. i., when singing 

" 'Tis the last rose of summer 
Left blooming alone," 

the order in which these words should be thought 
of is as follows : 

The last of summer is it rose 
Alone left blooming. 

This is the impression, the expression being the 
words in regular rotation. I feel sure the reader will 
meet with good results if he will give these matters 
proper attention. 



Physio-Psychology 171 

The next lines, 

" All her lovely companions 
Are faded and gone," 

must be thought of thus : 

Lovely all her companions 
Faded are and gone. 

It will be noticed that the words of an ideal order 
precede those of a real order. 

For German song words belonging to the real 
order of things must precede those of an ideal order. 

" Eine einzige Rose 
Fuehrt duftend allein 
Im herbstlichen Garten 
Ihr einsames Sein." 

This verse for song should be thought of in this 
order : 

Rose einzige eine 
Duftend fuehrt allein 
Garten im herbstlichen 
Ihr Sein einsames. 

and then sung in the regular order. 

All this shows that physiological and psychological 
studies, for the purpose of attaining proper results, 
must of necessity go hand in hand. It also shows that 
for every phenomenon resulting from the exercise of 
one of our faculties, besides a physiological process, 
there is a psychological one of a parallel order going 
on at the same time. 



i/2 Duality of Thought and Language 

In addition to all this I must still call attention to 
another observation I have made in connection with 
these matters. For utterance of words of a material 
order the oral cavity is extended downwardly ; that is, 
the bottom of the mouth is depressed, while the tongue 
is raised, so as to gain a free access to the oesophagus. 
For words of an immaterial order the oral cavity is 
extended upwardly ; that is, the soft palate rises, while 
the tongue is lowered, so as to gain a free access to the 
trachea. 

For the utterance of words representing things 
living, the soft palate of the upper and lower jaws 
(the latter being the soft part lying between the roots 
of the teeth and the frenum) alternately rises and falls. 

This rule holds good for all languages. 



REAL AND IDEAL. 

When I said the Anglo-Saxon reaches the ideal by 
way "of the real, while the German reaches the real 
by way of the ideal, I expressed a fact which presents 
itself to us in every feature of the true inwardness of 
the language of these two peoples. 

Under the heading Stress, in " Duality of Voice," 
page 174, etc., I called attention to the fact that Ger- 
mans must think of the word of the rising voice, the 
real, which is of the oesophagus, before they can utter 
those of the falling voice, the ideal, which are of the 
trachea ; while Anglo-Saxons must think of the words 
of the falling voice, the ideal, before they can utter 
that of the rising voice, the real. 



Real and Ideal 173 

A German consequently must think of the thing 
itself before he can think of that which defines it, 
while an Anglo-Saxon must think of the definition 
before he can think of that which is to be defined. 
Hence what is nearest in our expression is last in our 
thought, while what is distant in our expression is 
nearest in our thought. If this were not so there 
would be a hiatus between the expression of the real 
and ideal in our mode of speaking. 

In other words, if we could not utter words except 
by thinking of them as they come along, the thought 
of the next word would always intervene between the 
expression of the last and the one following. As it is, 
we bear the thought of the succeeding word already in 
mind before uttering the preceding one. 

Song production being the converse of speech pro- 
duction, it is speech reinforced. The impression is of 
the nature of speech, the expression of that of song. 

I could never produce song satisfactorily to my- 
self until I had comprehended this. Not being natu- 
rally endowed with the gift of song, I had to elaborate 
everything out of nothing, until I reached step by step 
that insight which enabled me to attain that goal 
which gifted singers possess by intuition. It was in this 
manner that the science of the voice, as far as it has 
thus far been explained, has been elucidated. Let it 
then be understood that while song production is in 
every sense the converse of that of speech, it is at 
the same time a combination of both. In this manner, 
that we must mentally go through the process of speech 
production before we can, by reversing this process, 
express an idea in song. 



174 Duality of Thought and Language 

We pursue both processes by which we first think 
of and then express an idea in speech, mentally, and 
without vocally uttering the same; and while still 
holding on to the thought we reverse the process 
while uttering it as song. 

This gives us four stages for song to two of speech 
production. Hence the comparative slowness of vocal 
song utterance as compared to that of vocal speech 
utterance. 

I must beg the reader to bear with me while at- 
tempting to explain these matters, which to me are 
quite clear, yet it is not easy expressing them clearly 
in language. 

Let me use a simile. Almost every one has seen 
a person by a dexterous movement of his hand throw 
a playing card quite a distance off into the air, and 
seen the card, after a moment's delay, return in the 
direction of the person throwing it. Here is a double 
action merged into one. First, the impetus forward, 
involving, however, also an impetus back again. The 
impetus forward is speech, checked, however, before ex- 
pression ; the impetus backward is song, which includes 
that of speech unexpressed. In place of an effort 
going out and then coming back, as with a card, English 
song expression is produced by the thought first com- 
ing to us, then going out as speech, checked, however, 
before uttering, and then coming back to us as song; 
while German song expression is thought first going 
out, as with our card, then coming to us as speech, 
which thus reinforced finally goes out from us as song. 
There are thus three actions for song, against two 
as with the example of the card. It will be noticed 



Real and Ideal 17s 

that for English song the thought comes to us, while 
for German it goes out from us, as previously ex- 
plained. 

When I speak of " the thought " it relates to what 
is most frequent in speech, and consequently also in 
song, namely, the expression of the spiritual, imma- 
terial, ideal, abstract, conceptive, subconscious — the 
noumenon, all of which are expressions, covering in 
regard to speech production one and the same ground. 

This being the leading principle in vocal utterance, 
it is the only one that needs to be considered ; the oppo- 
site order of things, namely, the physical, material, 
real, concrete, perceptive, conscious — the phenomenon, 
following, as a matter of necessity, and as a matter 
of course, the lead of the great principle of spiritual- 
ity. While we are right in the latter, the other rights 
itself. 

Yet in most investigations, so far, the physical, ma- 
terial, real, concrete, perceptive, conscious — the phe- 
nomenon, is the only principle which has been taken 
into consideration, while the leading principle of spir- 
ituality has been lost sight of. Hence the unsatisfac- 
tory state and condition of the sciences dealing with 
vital and spiritual matters of any kind. 




FRONT AND BACK. GERMANS IN AMERICA. 

WE are in the habit of concentring our thoughts 
upon what is in front of us, the anterior part of 
the body; our observations naturally tending towards 
that which we can see and touch; the mainspring of 
our nature being in the direction in which we walk and 
move about. To be able to thus live, so to say, an- 
teriorly, however, and to perform actions in an anterior 
direction, other actions must take place not only to 
produce, but also to counteract these actions. These 
producing and counter actions naturally have their seat 
in the opposite direction. Now, when I say a Ger- 
man's main seat of language is with the thorax, I 
mean anteriorly; when I say an Anglo-Saxon's main 
seat of language is with the abdomen, I again mean 
anteriorly. But as sure as this is the case, you may 
depend upon it that the counteraction is posteriorly in 
the complementary hemisphere. Hence, while with 
Germans the " seat " of immaterial language is with 
the thorax anteriorly, it is with the abdomen posteri- 
orly, as its complementary part. While with Anglo- 
Saxons it is with the abdomen anteriorly, it is with 
the thorax posteriorly as its complementary part. The 
thorax representing centripetal action and the abdomen 

176 



Front and Back 177 

centrifugal, German speech is propelled by the former, 
Anglo-Saxon by the latter. Centripetal action, how- 
ever, must be counteracted by centrifugal, and centrif- 
ugal by centripetal. Hence German speech, which is 
of the thorax, must be counteracted by the abdomen ; 
English speech, which is of the abdomen, must be 
counteracted by the thorax t 

Again, the thorax representing spirituality and the 
abdomen materiality, German speech, which is spirit- 
ual, must be counteracted by the material; English 
speech, which is material, must be counteracted by the 
spiritual. This also confirms what I have said before, 
that Germans reach the material by way of the ideal, 
Anglo-Saxons reach the ideal by way of the material ; 
which is the key to the characteristic traits of these 
nations both spiritual and material. While they are 
opposed to each other, they complement one another. 

Hence the offspring of a union between representa- 
tives of these two nations often bears in itself elements 
fruitful of the highest attainments. Such offspring, 
while American, unless forcibly led into German di- 
rections, still retains, as a rule, ideal propensities which 
lead them into German singing societies, and some- 
times into that mode of reflection which looks at things 
from an inner and ideal, rather than an exterior and 
material, point of view. Still, on the whole, they are 
Americans and far removed from the Germans, im- 
migrants, who have come to this country at a mature 
age. 

In viewing the German element in this country, 
therefore, these two classes must be regarded sep- 
arately, else reliable conclusions cannot be arrived at. 



i7 8 Duality of Thought and Language 

There has been a rather acrimonious controversy car- 
ried on of late, in German circles and papers, in which 
ultra-German and ultra-American views clashed with- 
out any apparent possibility of conciliation; all the 
parties to the same being Germans. In this controversy 
the difference between the German-born and the 
American-born elements of the German race in this 
country, so vastly different, was entirely lost sight of, 
hence the impossibility of reaching valid conclusions. 

. I will not enter further into this matter than to say 
that German immigrants can best serve their own 
interests and those of their adopted country by re- 
maining true to their inborn propensities and ideals, 
which have borne fruit in so many directions, and have 
assisted in elevating the people of this country, by im- 
parting to them a more reasonable, hopeful and cheer- 
ful view of life, in which contemplation, sentiment, re- 
pose and feeling enter, holding the balance to its but 
too rapid onward march of material accomplishment. 

It is not German music alone which has contributed 
much to this end, but German ideals, learning, phil- 
osophy, art and character blended with such excellent 
native characteristics as a burning desire for liberty 
and independence allied to a great love of country; a 
thirst for knowledge; a desire for the truth; the 
exercise of patience under trying circumstances ; a 
thrift which knows no bounds ; a feeling of justice, 
helpfulness and charity for all, which extends beyond 
the boundaries of this country to the suppressed and 
downtrodden of all nations. 

Hence the best thing for Germans to do, when 
they come here at a mature age, is to remain Germans 



German and American Ideals 179 

in the best sense of the word, and not attempt to be- 
come Americans, which they can never become, except 
in a hyper- American way, which is neither German 
nor American. Only thus can they properly fulfil 
their destiny and fill that sphere of usefulness and 
influence which will gain for them in the highest sense 
the respect and confidence of their American fellow 
citizens. 



GERMAN AND AMERICAN IDEALS. 

The fact that my publications have been suppressed 
rather than furthered in this country by those for 
whom they should possess the greatest interest, can 
be traced to various physiological causes. The fear 
that these new teachings may militate against the per- 
sonal interest of journals devoted to these matters, and 
teachers, is the main reason. That which produces this 
fear, however, must be considered the underlying 
cause. 

While Americans in connection with realistic, more 
particularly utilitarian projects, are daring and fear- 
less, they are cautious in connection with studies of a 
spiritual order. 

The spiritual not being imbedded in their nature, 
they cling with desperate effort, often against their 
better judgment, to tradition transmitted to them from 
the past. They fight shy of anything new that threat- 
ens to upset their old beliefs. Nor have they the 
" time " to investigate abstract or abstruse questions, 
such time being looked upon as wasted. Germans, 



i8o Duality of Thought and Language 

however, in whom the spiritual is imbedded, possess 
in their own persons the treasure-house of the ideal, 
which makes them in love with nature and all that is 
beautiful and of a high order. With them the tradi- 
tional, consequently, is not of the same superior and 
sacred order which it is to the Anglo-Saxon mind, 
which has what is coming to it from the exterior, the 
tradition, in the main to cling to. Hence the sacred- 
ness to Anglo-Saxons of the Bible and the Sabbath and 
similar things transmitted to them of a spiritual order. 

They are thrilled by the holiness and the stillness 
of the Sabbath and shudder at rude, vulgar and pro- 
fane interruptions of the same. The realistic strife, 
bustle and outcry of the week is stilled, and the soul 
retires within itself and is busy with God. The Ger- 
man, however, who bears his ideal within him does not 
feel constrained to devote to God's service all of his 
weekly holiday. 

Hence the constant conflict as between native and 
foreign elements in connection with the keeping of the 
Sabbath, and the amazement of foreigners at the in- 
terference on Sunday with their personal freedom in 
this the land of liberty. 

The Hebrew mind through all the centuries seems 
to have been of a similar order to that of the Anglo- 
Saxon, clinging as it did to the traditional letter of 
the " law " and the strict observance of the Sabbath, 
while its inmost thought was given to barter and the 
accumulation of wealth. 

These facts also explain the reason why so many 
educated Anglo-Saxons still closely embrace orthodox 
tradition in spite of the advancing march of enlight- 



German and American Ideals 181 

ening scientific insight. What is the consequence? 
Their reason is with science, their heart belongs to 
tradition. Europeans not possessing any knowledge 
of these physio-psychological causes, simply view 
these conflicting tendencies as an underlying stratum 
of " insincerity and cant " in the Anglo-Saxon char- 
acter. 

The high ideals of the Germans on the other hand 
are productive of classes, mainly of what they call 
the "Gebildeten" (educated) as against the " Unge- 
bildeten" (uneducated). With them the classes are 
against the masses in this assumed superiority as much 
as the masses are against the classes. With us it 
is at most the masses against the classes in their strife 
for the betterment of their condition. Hence with us 
such a thing as anarchism and even socialism is scarce- 
ly known, all classes being on the same footing ; spring- 
ing as they do from the people and belonging to the 
people. 

In Germany the classes, in the first instance, are 
composed of those who have the time and the oppor- 
tunity to devote to their ideals, quite apart from mat- 
ters of usefulness, as against the struggling masses 
who have not the time and the opportunity to devote 
to the same. With us there is no striking difference as 
between one class and another ; we are all moulded of 
the same clay; we all have the same ideals. Hence 
few dare step forward, and in spiritual matters take an 
independent and opposite stand to that of the vast 
majority of their countrymen. The mind of this coun- 
try in matters of religion (in spite of its many Chris- 
tian churches of different denominations, which as a 



1 82 Duality of Thought and Language 

matter of fact in essentials differ no more than the 
various grades of apples on one and the same tree) is 
a plateau of fairly level ground, with but here and 
there a hill and scarcely any mountains ; the republican 
idea being paramount a levelling idea. The spiritual 
mind of Germany, on the other hand, may be likened to 
a Switzerland composed of valleys, various grades of 
hills and not a few towering mountains. The unthink- 
ing masses are in the valley, controlled by their priest- 
hood, no independent thought ever entering their 
minds, while every shade of spiritual difference among 
their superiors often rises mountain high all around 
them. 

All classes in this country belonging to the people, 
we bow to the thought and will of the majority; and 
this unity of sentiment and equality of ideas and ideals, 
in fact, is the secret of the democratic idea being so 
successfully solved and maintained in this country. 
This is done notwithstanding the great disparity of 
worldly wealth distributed among our citizens, the 
spiritual wealth among us being largely of one and 
the same order. 

Pretty much the same kind of literary food is con- 
sumed by the woman in the drawing-room as by the 
one in her kitchen ; the same newspaper is read by the 
man in his counting-house as by the boy who runs his 
errands ; nor do the topics of conversation vary greatly 
as between the higher ranks and the lower. 

These statements may be looked upon as too sweep- 
ing, and so they are when taken literally. There are 
many noble exceptions to them here as there are ig- 
noble in Germany. The exception, however, as usual, 



German and American Ideals 183 

always intensifies the rule. We have no hereditary 
aristocracy to which the people bow with deference. 
We have no army whose officers are recruited from 
this aristocracy forming a distinct class unapproach- 
able by the people. We have no bureaucracy also con- 
sidering itself of a superior order ; nor have we a 
priesthood not immediately sprung from the people. 
With us, all classes spring from the people and after 
their term of office return to the same. There is no 
title prouder than that of an " American citizen." 

German idealism, on the other hand, is in need of 
its idols to which it can look up, bow to and be servile 
to. There is no such servility with us. 

The laborer listens to the demand (not command) 
of the employer and performs the task allotted to him ; 
but he does so manfully and independently, knowing 
that it is not impossible for him some day to be the 
employer. He looks his employer straight in the 
face and argues a point with him, if necessary, as on 
equal terms. There is no abashment with him and 
no fear. In this matter of independence as against 
servility there is our strength and our success. 

When it comes to spiritual matters, however, we 
bow to the thought of older nations, more particularly 
to that of Germany, a nation par excellence of think- 
ers, from the fact that spirituality is imbedded in their 
nature. 

Our spiritual leaders are much in the same posi- 
tion as our social leaders, who lack the firm position 
which heredity has assigned to those assuming that 
role in older countries. Hence the fear of " society " 
making a false step, and the persons composing its 



184 Duality of Thought and Language 

close and " select " circle drawing the line strictly 
against any " foreign " and " undesirable " elements ; 
" foreign " in this instance meaning elements antago- 
nistic to their views regarding the proprieties of dress, 
manner and behavior, and excluding all free and 
independent elements of a higher order which in their 
opinion are undesirable elements, theirs being the wor- 
ship of superficial accomplishments. 

Our leaders of thought, in a similar manner, fear 
of admitting and thus acknowledging new spiritual 
elements. This fact has been thoroughly exemplified 
in my case. I have been a disturbing element in their 
conservative slumbers, hence their cold indifference. 
Yet the American people are eager for knowledge. It 
is a curious spectacle, probably never before witnessed, 
to see hordes of young men and women, students of 
colleges and universities, doing menial service in sum- 
mer hotels for the purpose of earning a few dollars 
to enable them to continue their studies " the next 
session." Nothing more praiseworthy has ever 
been witnessed. German pride would rebel against 
such an insinuation and sooner starve than submit 
to it. 

Yet with all our eager desire for study and the 
possession of knowledge ; with all our institutions for 
learning, our richly endowed colleges and universities, 
we lack the true intuition for spiritual knowledge. We 
may import German books by the shipload, we cannot 
import the German spirit. The consequence is that our 
students still go to Germany for their higher knowl- 
edge, and they will some day go there also for this 
knowledge which I have in vain endeavored to bring 



German and American Ideals 185 

to the attention of the American people these last ten 
years. 

Though originated here, it has not obtained any- 
footing in this country, while in less than one year 
after its publication in the German language, the 
Germans are already now beginning to form societies 
for its study and for the purpose of formulating it 
into plans for practical instruction. 

Looking at these matters in another sense, it may 
be well that we cannot import the German spirit, as 
together with it we would also import its supercilious- 
ness, resulting in class distinction, which would be 
death to our free institutions. While we thus suffer in 
one sense we gain in another; while Germany thus 
gains in one sense, it suffers in another. Our learned 
men are simple and modest and of the people, 
while the learned mind of Germany is filled to the 
brim with the sense of its importance, forming a 
class of its own. And so do their artists, jurists, 
doctors and others form separate classes ; while with 
us, apart from their special profession, all are of 
the people. 

We have no titles, while in Germany the title is an 
ingredient part of a person's being, and even extends 
to its possessor's wife and children. We have but 
one title, " gentleman and lady," applied to a noble 
spirit, when allied to refinement and culture; that is 
our nobility. Then there is this other title of a " real 
man and a true woman," or " manly and womanly," 
when applied to their actions, which extends to all 
classes. 

The greatest levelling factor in this country is 



1 86 Duality of Thought and Language 

work, in which all classes participate — the millionaire 
as well as the day laborer — and as all are workers, all 
are of the same order, and there is thus no room for 
classes. There is no provision made for those who do 
not work, hence our idlers often find their way across 
the water, where they find congenial company, for 
which they would look in vain in this country. What 
wonder then that this country, with its endless faculty 
for work, should make such marked industrial strides 
forward ? 

Germans may come here and study our industrial 
conditions. They may learn much, but they will never 
be able to carry the spirit that underlies them home 
with them, no more than we can import into this 
country the ideal spirit underlying German superiority, 
productive of works of deep and earnest thought, into 
the realm of the mind, of science, art, music, and re- 
search into many other fields of knowledge. 

These two nations may imitate each other; they 
will never be able to emulate each other in their re- 
spective fields of superiority. 

Nor will Germans be able to contend with us in that 
spirit of liberty, that love of independence implanted 
in every American heart, no matter how humble and 
low its social position; that spirit which enables any 
one gifted with inborn capacity to aspire to the highest 
and to often reach it by pluck and perseverance ; that 
spirit which does not look up to any one as being a 
priori privileged beyond any one else. This is the 
spirit which makes this nation great and engenders 
a pride of country unparalleled elsewhere. 

In spite of that, the sad spectacle prevails here of 



German and American Ideals 187 

civic indifference and unblushing political malpractice 
among those who hold office. The cause is, our " best " 
people are too busy working for their personal interest. 
They cannot " afford " to hold office and devote their 
time to the public good. Hence politics is made a 
business of by those who know best how to coin it 
into money. 

If precisely the same conditions do not prevail in 
England, it is mainly due to the fact that it is an older 
country, and that various other factors, not of a parallel 
order, enter into its composition. In the main, how- 
ever, we are very nearly one and the same people. 

While the underlying principle with us is " work," 
its counterpart is " sport/' 

A nation given to material pursuits must find vent 
and an outlet in material leisure; that is, in an allied, 
though opposite direction. Thus Germany's ideal 
mind finds an outlet from its daily pursuits in 
other ideal directions; the love of nature, conver- 
sation, music, art, etc. The sporting spirit with us, 
however, while it is at the bottom of much that is of 
evil, is also at the bottom of much that is good. The 
evil consists in this ceaseless strife after material 
wealth. It is not so much the desire to possess it as 
the desire to possess more than some one else ; to rival 
with others, to be at the top of the ladder. The proof 
that this intent desire for possession is of a sporting 
character is, that when acquired it is often spent care- 
lessly and as fast as it is made. 

The good derived from this kind of "sport," on the 
other hand, is, that it is thus often spent for unselfish 
purposes, for the public good, in a spirit of helpfulness 



1 88 Duality of Thought and Language 

and charity. And even in this rivalry, or the sporting 
spirit in its highest sense, there sometimes enters as an 
underlying motive, the incentive to see " who will 
do the greatest amount of good," a noble rivalry to 
be sure. 

Our very pleasures are work of some kind or other ; 
every recreation must have an object in view, every 
sport being indulged in with the object to win. We 
rarely walk for the mere pleasure of walking, and 
vastly prefer driving, riding, boating, etc. Germans, 
on the other hand, love to walk, and while doing so 
indulge in the contemplation of nature. 

While love of nature and the ideal impels Germans 
to seek the mountain tops, Americans will race up a 
mountain, watch in hand, to see who can first get to 
its top. This is true, not only metaphorically, but lit- 
erally also. 

There is one word used in both languages which 
emphasizes these characteristic qualities in a most pre- 
cise manner. It is the word " ideal." " Das Ideal " 
with Germans stands for everything that is high, noble, 
sublime. It is the highest goal to which every member 
of the nation aspires. It is not anything definite, but 
takes the place of what Anglo-Saxons, in a sense, com- 
prehend in using the word " Christ " or " God." The 
God idea with Americans, however, is also of a more 
or less realistic nature, as He is called upon to help 
and interfere, while " das Ideal " is a purely spiritual 
conception. " Das Ideal " is implanted in the heart of 
the nation, it represents all that is lofty and sublime 
and worthy of being emulated. It is Germany's God, 
or Goddess rather. All her yearning, longing, de- 



German and American Ideals 189 

siring, hoping is a desire for the ideal, always before 
them, yet never to be attained ; the desire to divest the 
soul of the dross of the material earth and bathe in 
zones of purest ether. 

The same word in the English language is applied 
to anything and everything of a superior order. To the 
ideal mode of living, eating, travelling, dressing; the 
ideal store, saucepan, mousetrap ; the ideal bonnet, cor- 
set, hairpin, etc. ; anything and everything that we like 
better than something else is the, ideal thing. 

" Das Ideal " impels German students to chivalrous 
acts ; to fight in single combat (like the knights of old) 
the antagonist whom they fancy has assailed their 
honor. The cuts they receive on these occasions, after 
disfiguring them for life in the scars they leave behind 
them, are marks of " honor," which they display with 
as much pride as the cords, chains, ribbons, metal 
eagles, lions, etc., attached to them, and given to them 
later on in life as marks of distinction and honor ; and 
woe to the man who addresses them without proper 
reference to the rank which they convey. 

Nothing of that kind is known with us; the only 
mark of distinction conveyed by the government and 
permitted to be worn is one given for bravery in rescu- 
ing life on the sea, on the coast, or in a fire ; and even 
these are rarely displayed. Hence we are a nation of 
civilians, not aspiring for reward or public recognition. 

" Das Ideal " also impels German students to drink 
beer in immoderate quantities, while listening to music 
and indulging in conversational excursions into the 
highest regions of the mind. The spirit of the beer 
helps the spirit of the man to reach transcendental 



i9° Duality of Thought and Language 

realms; though regions of the lowest order are 
also often reached instead. Its consumption, in com- 
mon with others, fosters the fraternal spirit and helps 
bearing " the Weltschmerz." It is also productive of 
the intimate " du," an unknown factor with us ; the 
reserve in the Anglo-Saxon character, produced by his 
indirect mode of breathing, not admitting of an indul- 
gence in such tokens of intimacy with mere casual 
acquaintances. 

The worship of the army, also of a similar order 
in its chivalric import, has no parallel in this country. 
The army makes its presence felt everywhere in Ger- 
many and has the sympathy of the people far more 
than its far-away navy. 

In the more sober regions of our youthful en- 
thusiasts, baseball, football, lawn-tennis, golf, rowing, 
swimming, athletics of every description take the place 
of these more or less sentimental indulgences and the 
man in after life must make his way, not by the dis- 
play of outward signs of distinction, but by his inner 
worth. 

Our universities glory in the possession of a foot- 
ball team which can beat that of some other university, 
and some students are actually drawn to that uni- 
versity which has the " best team " ; a state of affairs 
which would simply fill a German student with disgust. 

The majority of our students of late, after ab- 
solving the university, enter business as their life pur- 
suit; while in Germany, business is still looked down 
upon by those aspiring to " higher things " with hau- 
teur and disdain. 

One of our ideals is the speaking of the truth. 



German and American Ideals 19 1 

One of our Western or Southern desperadoes, other- 
wise devoid of all principle, will at the peril of his own 
life shoot you down on the spot if you tell him he lies. 

Personal cleanliness is one of our ideals. No other 
race can vie in that respect with the Anglo-Saxon 
races. 

The worship of womanhood is one of our ideals. 
The humblest man, in the feeling of his manly strength, 
thinks that he should be its protector. The tired 
laborer gets up from his seat in the car and offers it to 
an idle, thoughtless girl, not that she deserves it, but 
from a sheer inborn sense of chivalry, and she accepts 
it as her due. The heart of our people is full of kind- 
ness and helpfulness, which finds its exponent by the 
rich in endless works of charity. Our government 
has no hand in them ; it is the free offering of the people. 
What is all religious belief, every spiritual theory, 
alongside of this inborn trait of character? Every 
heart in this nation is filled with a feeling of helpful- 
ness for his helpless brother ; knowing there is no one 
else to help, if he does not do it. He is the govern- 
ment, and this duty, elsewhere of the government, in 
this country largely devolves on him; these matters 
in Germany being mostly left to the care of a paternal 
government, a condition to which the spirit of this 
nation is radically opposed. In spite of all our realism 
we have our true idealism, as the Germans have their 
realism; but the preponderance of realism is with us, 
as that of idealism is with them. 



192 Duality of Thought and Language 



PHYSIOLOGICAL CAUSES. 

There is no end to the comparisons as between 
German and American ideals, every phase of life offer- 
ing opportunity for similar observations as those pre- 
viously made. The main object I had in view in the 
presentation of these facts having thus been clearly 
established, namely, that the " spiritual " or ideal is 
imbedded in the persons forming the German nation 
and speaking the German tongue, while the " ma- 
terial," or real, is imbedded in the persons forming the 
American nation and speaking the English tongue, it 
also follows as a matter of course that to complement 
these factors the material comes to Germans from the 
exterior, while the spiritual comes to Anglo-Saxons 
from the exterior. The same facts of course obtain 
with all nations speaking these respective tongues. 
Hence Germans are rooted in the spiritual, while An- 
glo-Saxons are rooted in the material as their pre- 
ponderating elements. Regarding this question of be- 
ing " imbedded " in a person and " coming to him," 
it is of the same order as a person's individuality and 
the relation he bears to other persons and the world 
at large. 

The psychological knowledge thus obtained regard- 
ing the difference as between the German and Anglo- 
Saxon character, is supplemented by parallel physio- 
logical knowledge, which teaches, as I have heretofore 
shown, that Germans inspire into the abdomen 
and expire from the thorax, while Anglo-Saxons in- 
spire into the thorax and expire from the abdomen; 



Physiological Causes 193 

the last stage always being the leading one in any- 
dual process. Germans expiring from the thorax, the 
seat of spirituality, idealism with them has the pre- 
ponderance; while Anglo-Saxons, expiring from the 
abdomen, the seat of the material, realism with them 
has the preponderance. 

It also shows that the German dual system is driven 
by centripetal or concentric, while the Anglo-Saxon 
dual system is driven by centrifugal or eccentric force. 
That is to say, inasmuch as these opposing forces in 
living human beings always complement one another, 
the preponderating or prevailing force is the one which 
lends its character to a movement. This dual action 
in a human being speaking the German language, in 
being centripetal, has the tendency of producing vocal 
utterance by rapid motion, while it produces its coun- 
terpart, muscular action, of a relatively slow order. In 
a human being speaking the English language, on the 
other hand, this dual action being centrifugal, has the 
tendency of producing vocal utterance of a slow, and 
its counterpart, muscular action, of a rapid order. 
Hence with Germans the concentric motion prevails 
for speech, the eccentric for work. With Anglo- 
Saxons, on the other hand, eccentric motion prevails 
for speech and concentric for work. During eccentric 
motion for work with Germans, the hands, which dur- 
ing repose are usually apart, I, join; 2, move apart; 3, 
join loosely ; 4, again move apart, and 5, come together 
for work. 

During concentric motion for work with Americans 
the hands, which (Juring repose are usually near to- 
gether, 1, move apart; 2, loosely join; 3, move apart, 



194 Duality of Thought and Language 

and 4, come together for work. (Compare pages 130, 
etc., of " Duality of Voice.") 

During work, as hand-knitting, f. i., the hands of 
Americans remain near together, while those of Ger- 
mans move farther apart. The same observation can 
be made in regard to walking, Germans making 
larger strides than Americans. The outcome of all 
this seems to me to be this: The Anglo-Saxon ma- 
chinery, through its language, is set in motion centrif- 
ugally; the German in an exactly opposite direction, 
centripetally. The result is a perfect contrast in all 
the underlying causes producing their respective ac- 
tions of any and every description. This, however, is 
not a matter upon which I can enter at greater length 
at this time; it would lead me too far away from my 
subject. 

I have entered upon it to show whence this greater 
activity with Americans; this greater production and 
success in industrial pursuits ; this driving and pushing 
and go-aheadism. It is not that the Americans are by 
nature or by inclination more industrious than their 
German brothers and sisters, but that their system is 
driven by a force which lends itself to greater capacity 
for work; the additional one-fifth more work, as just 
enumerated, an American performs, being the natural 
outcome of his system, and is not done by any extra 
exertion on his part. The children of all foreigners 
born in this country and speaking the English lan- 
guage idiomatically correct, share in this advantage. 

As long as we imported foreign labor into this 
country in the shape of manufactured goods, wages 
being so much lower in Europe than with us, we had 



Physiological Causes 195 

but little opportunity for making any great strides 
forward. The protective tariff, however, has set our 
" hands " free, which were formerly confined to mak- 
ing the lowest class of goods, and now, having had the 
opportunity of getting our industries started, which 
was formerly denied us, we are actually exporting 
many classes of goods to Europe which were formerly 
imported from there. 

The word " hands " is a characteristic English 
expression for laborers. 

This again shows that in the rapidity of speech, 
which is of a spiritual nature, spiritual factors pre- 
dominate with Germans, while in the rapidity of labor, 
which is of a material nature, material factors pre- 
dominate with Anglo-Saxons. 

Work is the product of positive and negative fac- 
tors approaching each other and fusing; the left hand 
representing the negative, while the right represents 
the positive factor. The coming together, or the near 
approach to each other, of the finger-tips, causes the 
positive and negative factors of a fluidum, supposed to 
be electric magnetism, to pass from one hand to the 
other, which vitalizes them into action and enables 
them to more or less rapidly perform the work. 




THE BRAIN A CENTRAL TELEPHONIC 
STATION. 



Considering what has been said regarding the ori- 
gin and location of words, we may comprehend how it 
is possible for a child to learn to express an idea in a 
word. 

After passing its first lethargic state, during which 
every agency destined to form the basis for its fu- 
ture existence gradually settles down to its proper 
position, material and spiritual factors begin to fuse 
in the sounds baby first begins to utter in its cooing. 
Every impression having a special place assigned for 
itself in the body, a correspondence is at once estab- 
lished between such place and the brain. The or- 
ganization established, all that is needed for an idea 
to be materialized or expressed is a word. The word 
being supplied by its mother or other persons, the 
child begins to utter the same, and in future continues 
to use the same word to express the same idea. The 
close relation and affinity existing between the object, 
material or immaterial, first producing the impression, 
and then the idea, and the place where such idea 
originates in the body, and corresponds with another 
in the brain, enables the child to give a definite and 
constant expression to such idea through the word. 

196 



The Brain a Telephonic Station 197 

If this material-spiritual relationship did not exist, 
how would it be possible for a young child to always 
express the same idea in the same manner ? Or to ex- 
press the same idea by different words, when it is 
taught to do so' in different languages, if such words 
were not " soulfully " expressed in all languages alike? 

Would there be such a thing as a memory, could 
ideas be always expressed by the same word, if they 
were only mechanically conveyed? Could a thought- 
less child or even a grown person thus always express 
them ? Impossible. 

Memory, therefore, is not a storehouse of the brain, 
promiscuously filled with all manner of words, but it 
is a storehouse carefully planned and laid out in the 
trunk of the body with corresponding chambers in the 
brain. These again correspond with impressions either 
material or immaterial. An impression of a material 
order is first made on the body and then on the brain ; 
an impression of a spiritual order is first made on the 
brain and then on the body. There is always a cor- 
relative action, however. Hence memory is a process 
of dual nature, in which body and mind form a trust 
for the gathering and expressing of ideas. 

An object a child sees, say an apple, is spiritually 
reflected as in a mirror, in the group " fruit," located 
in a given part of the body. There is thus a corre- 
spondence established between the nature of the apple 
and that of the child. The impression made upon the 
body is then conveyed to the brain, upon which the 
child becomes conscious of the apple and is enabled to 
utter the word. 

The nature of the apple represents a spiritual 



19 8 Duality of Thought and Language 

photograph conveying to the child's mind the idea of 
an apple and is expressed in the word, no matter 
whether it be the English, German, French, or any 
other version of the same idea. This is of the same 
order as the process which, when conveyed directly 
from mind to mind, even between persons of different 
nationalities, not speaking the same language, is called 
telepathy. 

The simple reflection of the picture of the apple 
on the iris of the eye would not convey the idea, no 
more than the spoken word would convey the idea, but 
for this association and relationship of the object with 
the part where the idea thereof is represented in the 
body and the brain. 

It is assumed that all impressions are made upon 
the brain only. I think I shall be able to show, quite 
conclusively,, hereafter, that such is not the case, in so 
far as the brain acts mainly as the mediator between 
the locality of the idea in the body and the place where 
the impression has been made on the iris, the eardrum, 
the -tongue, the epidermis, or the nasal ducts in con- 
formity with whether the thing has been seen, heard, 
tasted, felt or smelled. It acts in a similar manner, 
by association, in respect to abstract thought. 

Hence I expect to prove that the brain is not the 
sole seat and custodian of the intellect and the mind. 
It is the central station, rather, as it were, of a net 
of telegraph or telephone wires, in which messages 
are received and from which messages are sent out in 
a thousand directions. 

The messages are first received by the positive fac- 
tor of the brain from the negative factor of the vessel 



The Brain a Telephonic Station 199 

on which the impression has been made ; they are then 
returned to the positive factor of such vessel. From 
here they are sent to the negative factor of the brain 
in correspondence with said vessel, as a dual message 
of the body and the brain, where they are crystallized 
into the thought of which we become conscious. It 
must be evident that the flow of speech or of song 
cannot be the outcome of a direct influence of the 
brain upon the vocal cords. They flow from an end- 
less number of sources, to unite in the syllable, the 
word and the sentence. 

This is not the entire process, however, as there is 
an additional correspondence going on between certain 
ganglia and glands of the lymphatic system, also in 
correlation with the brain and the vessels to which 
the first impression has been conveyed, which latter 
correspondence enables us to express the thought by 
the word. Just how this additional correspondence is 
carried on I am unable to say; but I shall produce 
proof of its existence. 

This shows that the lymphatic system, with its 
ducts, ganglia and glands, is of the first importance 
in connection with vocal utterance. 

That part of vocal utterance which is representa- 
tive of emotion, feeling and sympathy, on the other 
hand, is closely affiliated with the circulatory system 
of which the heart is the central organ. 

When we are groping about for an idea and a 
word, the opposite poles for the establishment of a cor- 
respondence between body and mind fail to form a 
union. While we are thus groping they sometimes ap- 
proach each other, but without actually uniting. When 



2oo Duality of Thought and Language 

this is the case we come near having the idea, yet fail 
to grasp it. After this the poles again separate and 
again approach each other, until they finally meet — 
and, like a flash, we have the idea and the word. 

Try and think with your brain or head only, keep- 
ing them intact and apart, and without communica- 
tion with any other part of the body, and see if you 
can gather a thought or utter a word, a syllable, or 
even a sound of any kind. 

While for the various purposes of correct vocal 
utterance it is important to understand the origin and 
locality of vocal sounds, it is far more important to 
comprehend the origin and location of words repre- 
sentative of ideas. No word can be uttered with its 
proper intonation unless the brain is in direct com- 
munication with the locality of its embodiment in the 
trunk of the body. 

Regarding this place, it has already been stated 
that the " locality " is the place not only of the first 
impression, but also for the final expression. The 
place for the expression of an English word is that 
for the impression of a German, and the place for the 
impression of an English word is that for the expres- 
sion of the German word. 

Try a word representing a flower. The impres- 
sion is made on the glands of the right side of the 
thigh, the expression on the left side just opposite. 
For the corresponding German word these relations 
are reversed. 

For the expression of a word of a material order 
we expire from the thorax, inspire into the abdomen, 
inspire into the thorax, and expire from the abdomen. 



The Brain a Telephonic Station 201 

For a word of an immaterial order we expire from 
the abdomen, inspire into the thorax, inspire into the 
abdomen, and expire from the thorax. 

For a word of a material-immaterial order, repre- 
senting things living, these two processes in combina- 
tion for an English word succeed each other as above ; 
for a German word this order is reversed. 

To prove the correctness of the above, place 
your hand on the top of your head and attempt to 
pronounce a word of an immaterial order and you 
will not be able to utter it. 

When you, on the other hand, produce a pressure 
against the perinseum (this place where so many vital 
elements meet) you will be equally unable to utter a 
word of a material order. 

You will have no difficulty, however, uttering 
words of either order by reversing these pressures or 
making the respective parts rigid; that is, you will 
have no difficulty uttering words of a realistic order 
when pressing your scalp, or those of an immaterial 
order when pressing the perinaeum. 

When such pressures are produced before thinking 
of a word you will be prevented from even mentally 
conceiving words of the respective orders I have men- 
tioned. All this goes to show that immaterial thought 
originates with the brain, while material thought orig- 
inates in given places of the lower part of the body. 
It also shows that the former corresponds with given 
parts of the thorax, while the latter corresponds with 
given parts of the brain. 

The following is offered as positive proof regard- 
ing the assertions made as to the correlative influence 



2G2 Duality of Thought and Language 

of brain and body in connection with thought and 
language: While seriously pondering over some 
question you are apt to stem your elbow on a table in 
front of you, while resting your forehead in the palm 
of your hand. The moment you arrive at your con- 
clusion, however, and want to utter it audibly, you re- 
lease your head from your hand and its support, by 
raising it, before you begin to speak. The thought now 
being transferred to the body, the head does not re- 
quire any further support. During thought the brain 
prevails over the body ; during speech the body pre- 
vails over the brain. It is a simple shifting of poles. 
You cannot in fact continue to support your brain by 
your hand as before and give utterance to the words 
representing the idea arrived at. 

During thought the brain is the positive factor 
and the body the negative ; during speech the body is 
the positive factor and the brain the negative. 

It is freely admitted that the separate parts form- 
ing the visible physical machinery constituting our 
body act in perfect accord and harmony with each 
other. It should be equally apparent that the separate 
parts forming the invisible machinery constituting our 
spiritual being, must also act in perfect accord and 
harmony, not only with each other, but also with every 
corresponding part constituting our physical being. 
Thus, while our spiritual machinery vitalizes our physi- 
cal machinery or any special part thereof, our physical 
machinery is the means of vitalizing our spiritual ma- 
chinery, or any separate part thereof, into life and 
action. 

If this were not the case, and our entire spiritual 



The Brain a Telephonic Station 203 

existence were confined to the brain and its action, 
it does not seem to me possible that all the various 
subtle phases of language could be vocally uttered 
so promptly and so harmoniously, and simultaneously, 
apparently, with the thoughts that give them birth. 

Hence I maintain that speech, being the product of 
a harmonious fusion of spiritual and vital factors, is 
the direct product of specially vitalized parts of our 
psycho-physical machinery, called momentarily into 
action for the purpose of producing separate parts of 
speech, which in consequence of the harmonious fusion 
of all parts, enables us to produce audible, as well as 
printed or written language, which latter is vocal lan- 
guage materialized. 

The different languages are the product of the dif- 
ferent manners in which spiritual and material factors 
fuse, and in fusing predominate one over the other; 
either the spiritual over the material, or the material 
over the spiritual. 

The brain being the organ in which all ends center, 
it gives the first impulse for thought production, but 
it is not by any means the only factor participating 
therein. Thought makes the impression of which 
speech is the expression, the impression, as before re- 
marked, being thoughtful, the expression thoughtless. 

It must be evident that the brain cannot directly 
participate in the tonal expression of a thought evoked 
by the utterance of a word. The vocal cords cannot 
express it ; that fallacy has been utterly exploded. The 
entire mental and physical machinery is involved in the 
act, and I feel sure I cannot be far astray in the man- 
ner in which I have pointed out the modus operandi 



204 Duality of Thought and Language 

in which this is accomplished. I know it to be true 
by a thousand experiments. To be sure, it is but a 
crude outline that I have given, but this outline offers 
a basis for further development. 

Before closing this chapter I beg to add the fol- 
lowing, which though not directly related to these 
matters, yet may be said to relate to them indirectly : 

As the inverted image of an object reflected on the 
outer material surface of the retina of the eye is 
" righted " by the inner spiritual surface thereof, so is 
the evil, which is the reverse of the good, " righted " 
by the good. For, as the spiritual prevails over the 
material, so does the good prevail over the evil. 

Should man ever be able to arrive at a perfect 
knowledge of his own being, physically, physiologically 
and psychologically (an end, however, which it does 
not seem to be in his composition to attain), he 
would thereby obtain a universal knowledge. By 
furthermore attaining an inner, or inverse view of the 
phenomena thus presented, he would arrive at the 
noumena thereof, and in so doing obtain a summary 
knowledge of their underlying causes, which knowl- 
edge, comprising all things, would be equal to the 
knowledge of " God." This, of course, is intended to 
express in a somewhat new form the old thought, that 
all the forces which enter into the composition of the 
universe enter into the composition of man, this micro- 
cosmic representation of the macrocosm. 



Song and Motion 205 



SONG AND MOTION. 

After showing in the preceding chapters that the 
realistic is the prevailing motive with Anglo-Saxons, 
while the idealistic is the prevailing motive with Ger- 
mans, and that these motives are expressed by the 
stress put upon the respective words of these respec- 
tive languages, I will now show the reason why sing- 
ers, as a rule, are prevented from producing song 
with the same ease and naturalness as the spoken lan- 
guage. 

These observations refer directly to the English 
and German languages. In how far the laws I 
have deduced from the same may affect other lan- 
guages must for the present be left to future inves- 
tigations. 

When we speak of " real " and " ideal " it must 
be understood that these are expressions representing 
a cycle of dual, reciprocal or correlative courses of 
thought and expression. While the Anglo-Saxon is 
mainly rooted in the material, there is always a round 
of proceeding which leads him on to the ideal. While 
the German is mainly rooted in the ideal, this " round " 
again leads him on to the real. It may thus be readily 
understood how the point of gravitation with gifted 
Anglo-Saxons may be shifted from the prevailing real- 
istic tendencies of their nation to idealistic propensi- 
ties, and how with Germans it may be shifted from the 
prevailing ideal of their nation to more realistic pro- 
pensities. When thus shifted it often reaches a 
higher order idealistically with Anglo-Saxons, and 



10G Duality of Thought and Language 

an order of a lower grade with Germans, than is 
ordinarily the case, conversely, with either of these 
two nations. 

This " round " of things is clearly defined in the 
respective languages of these respective nations. 

While the noun, representing the principal motif, 
or the realistic in speech, is the prevailing one with 
Anglo-Saxons, the adjective, the adverb, and other 
parts of speech representing the descriptive or ideal 
parts thereof, which define the noun, are the prevail- 
ing motif with Germans. 

I have pointed out how this fact affects the speech 
of these respective nations. Anglo-Saxon speech pro- 
duction being the exact reverse of German speech 
production, and vice versa, and song being the con- 
verse of speech, Anglo-Saxon song is the counterpart 
of German speech, and German song the counterpart 
of English speech. In this wise: In his "round" of 
thought an Anglo-Saxon thinks of the realistic, the 
noun, first, and in his speech puts the stress upon it. 
For song he does not first express this part of his 
round of thought, however, but he holds on to it sub- 
consciously. He then first expresses the second, ideal 
part of this round of thought, after which he expresses 
that which had at first been withheld, the real. Hence, 
when producing song, an Anglo-Saxon must think of 
the idealistic, and the realistic will naturally follow in 
its wake; while a German must think of the realistic 
and the idealistic will naturally follow in its wake. 
This seeming perversion is the golden rule for song 
production of these nations. If properly carried out, 
song will be produced as naturally as speech ; and this 



Song and Motion 207 

is, in fact, the way in which gifted singers uncon- 
sciously produce song. 

There are other motives of language, however, as 
the connecting and separating links, the interrogation, 
the command, etc., all based on the same converse 
order of things, and which also must be perfectly un- 
derstood in connection with song production, if the 
same is to be uttered with absolute purity. Thus the 
general principles underlying vocal utterance cannot 
be properly established except by physiology and 
psychology joining hands, sustaining and assisting one 
another. Ideal, or psychological processes, are evolved 
independently by themselves ; real, or physiological 
processes, on the other hand, are always accompanied 
by corresponding psychological ones. Mere thought 
is free ; it can depart from a theme and again return 
to it; but when thought is to be uttered vocally, that 
is, physiologically, it must strictly adhere to its theme. 
Though there is a great deal more to be said, the ob- 
servance of what I have already stated should go a 
good way towards leading singers into the right direc- 
tion. 

The construction of the sentence in these respective 
languages, if studied in connection with these ob- 
servations, will prove to be largely influenced by the 
same. 

In conjunction with the preceding it will be well 
to remember that though it may appear difficult to 
think of the succeeding before thinking of the preced- 
ing, Anglo-Saxons are doing this continually in their 
ordinary mode of expression ; hence the slow process 
of their speech as against the more rapid of Germans. 



208 Duality of Thought and Language 

I hope 1" have expressed myself with sufficient clear- 
ness to be perfectly understood. 

It will be well for students to connect the preceding 
with what I have said regarding perception and con- 
ception, or what I consider to be of the same relative 
order, namely, the conscious and subconscious. The 
entire subject of vocal expression, being fundamentally 
an outcome of the mind, when well understood is ac- 
companied by good, when ill understood, by evil 
results. 

To force the voice is an evil practice always. When 
properly directed by thought it yields naturally and 
easily to every impulse; and practice will assist in 
developing it to ever higher standards. But woe to 
the singer who follows improper directions. 

It will have been seen that the main difficulty with 
song production is that it is the converse of speech 
production. That it is in fact an amplification of 
speech which includes the inverse and the converse 
thereof. We hold on to the one until we have pro- 
duced the other. 

Let me explain this by an example. For English 
song production let us imagine that while going down 
a hill we are, as it were, holding on to a wheelbarrow 
which is in front of us ; then, while retracing our steps 
backwards, we are pulling it up the hill again, while 
still holding on to its handles just as before; and 
finally, rushing down the hill, we are pushing our 
wheelbarrow before us. The holding the wheelbarrow 
back in the first instance, and then pulling it up in 
the second, is equal to holding the breath during the 
two first stages; the final running down the hill is 



Song and Motion 209 

equal to the expiration and the song. It will be ob- 
served that the first stage is accompanied with the 
least, the second with more, and the last with most 
force; our imagination during all these proceedings 
being equal in effect to the actual facts ; they are, how- 
ever, as a matter of course, carried out much quicker 
in our mind than they could possibly be in reality. 

For German song let us imagine that we are push- 
ing a wheelbarrow up a hill, then holding it back while 
going down backward, and again pushing it up vigor- 
ously while running up the hill. Here again we hold 
on to our breath during the first two stages and expend 
this double inspiration during the last stage, and in 
so doing produce song. Here also the force is in- 
creased at every stage. 

The English mode of proceeding represents at its 
first stage an expiration from the thorax and an in- 
spiration into the abdomen, at its second an inspira- 
tion into the thorax, and at its last stage first an ex- 
piration from the thorax, followed by an expiration 
from the abdomen accompanied by song. The German 
mode of proceeding represents at its first stage an 
expiration from the abdomen and an inspiration into 
the thorax, at its second stage an inspiration into the 
abdomen, and at its last stage first an expiration from 
the abdomen, succeeded by an expiration from the 
thorax. 

During this proceeding you may also notice the 
following: During the first stage for English song, 
while inspiring into the abdomen, you straighten out, 
leaning backwards ; during the second stage, while 
inspiring into the thorax, you straighten out further 



210 Duality of Thought and Language 

and take a still more backward position; at the third 
stage you lean forward while first expiring from the 
thorax, and lean forward still more while expiring 
from the abdomen. 

During the first stage for German song you lean 
forward while inspiring into the thorax ; at the second 
stage you lean still further forward while inspiring 
into the abdomen; at the third stage you straighten 
out while expiring from the abdomen, and then 
straighten out further while expiring from the thorax. 

It will be noticed that the last stage for German 
song is an expiration from the thorax. This expira- 
tion for German song takes place from the anterior 
part of the oral cavity ; while the last stage for English 
song, coming from the abdomen, takes place from the 
posterior part of the oral cavity. This accounts for 
the well-known fact that Germans feel the voice in 
the upper part of the chest, beneath the collarbone, 
while Anglo-Saxons feel it in the abdomen above the 
navel. Either of them can " stop " the voice at these 
parts by either mechanical pressure or making these 
parts rigid. But you can also stop the English voice 
between the shoulder blades, while you can stop the 
German at the small of the back, the English voice 
taking its course from the anterior part of the abdo- 
men to the posterior of the chest, while the German 
takes its course from the posterior part of the abdo- 
men to the anterior of the chest. 

A very remarkable fact in connection with these 
studies is the following: 

The first stage, all by itself, of the movements 
described as with a wheelbarrow, with either Germans 



Song and Motion 211 

or Anglo-Saxons, is productive of vocal sounds only ; 
the second stage in connection with the first of speech; 
the last stage in connection with the two preceding 
ones of song. That is to say, at these respective stages 
you can only produce vocal sounds, speech, or song, 
and nothing else besides. 

Experiments, as with all my statements, will prove 
the correctness of this assertion. 

All the preceding has reference to phenomena 
making their appearance in front of us. 

If we, however, mentally relinquish the wheelbar- 
row, which is productive of force, and simply make 
the same movements in our mind without our wheel- 
barrow, and hence without the application of force, 
precisely the same phenomena will make their appear- 
ance at our back. These movements respectively pro- 
ductive of vocal sounds, vocal speech, and vocal song, 
will then produce simple sounds, simple speech, and 
simple song. 

In all the former instances the pressure came from 
the back; in all the last ones from the front. 

Regarding other nations in connection with these 
experiments, an Italian is in front of the wheelbarrow, 
instead of behind it. He is on level ground, and first 
pulls it after him forward ; then, still holding on to its 
handles, he walks backward, and finally, with a rush, 
forward, producing first vocal sounds, then speech, 
and finally song. 

A Frenchman is also on level ground, and first 
pushes his wheelbarrow backward, then forward be- 
yond the point from which he started, and finally back- 
ward again. All these various movements require 



212 Duality of Thought and Language 

various modes of breathing for the production of the 
same mode of expression in various tongues. 

The English and German languages, while radi- 
cally opposed to each other, are on the same plane, 
representing as they do the two opposite phases of 
the same " round " of proceedings. What other lan- 
guages may be of an opposite order, representing other 
planes, I am not ready to say, though I venture to say 
that of romance languages the Spanish and the 
French, respectively, represent on a plane of their 
own what the German and English do on their plane. 
I do not make this an assertion, however; it is simply 
an impression. 

For other tongues there may be various other 
movements to either the right or the left, forward and 
backward, higher and lower, etc. And there are such 
movements representative and productive of all the 
various languages ; for it is motion always, and motion 
only, in connection with a relative mode of breathing, 
that is productive of vocal utterance, though such 
motion may never be visible or felt. A person, while 
having these movements in his mind, can produce pure 
song in all these various languages. 



EMPIRICISM VS. SCIENCE. 

To show the narrowness of such studies as those 
Mr. Lunn has devoted himself to, I beg to call atten- 
tion to the following bit of empiricism, as against my 
studies, which are based on scientific principles. Ap- 
ropos of the buzzing " b " sound mentioned on page 



Empiricism vs. Science 213 

256 of this volume, I beg to state that this sound 
is made by a German by compressing his cheeks in- 
stead of inflating them, as with an Anglo-Saxon. He 
first draws them in and then inflates them, while an 
Anglo-Saxon first inflates them and then draws them 
in. A Frenchman inflates his lips and not his cheeks ; 
an Italian produces this sound by exhausting the air 
from the bottom of the mouth. Thus every nation pro- 
duces vocal sounds in a different manner from every 
other nation. Yet Mr. Lunn presents this ex parte 
observation of his, made from his (English) stand- 
point, as a truth of universal application. A vocal 
teacher in Leipzig, who has a sign before his house 
on which he announces himself as a " teacher of 
teachers," and who had studied Mr. Lunn, produced 
this buzzing " b " sound for me as a proof of his erudi- 
tion in vocal science. It was about all he had to show 
in this line. Of course he produced it in the German 
fashion, but never knew the difference. 

Here is the main trouble in connection with the 
science of vocal utterance, that every observer pre- 
sents his experience as of universal application, while 
as a matter of fact vocal sound production with every 
nation is of a different order. 

Let me also remark that besides the " b " sound, 
every consonant, and for that also every vowel sound, 
can be made in a similar manner ; the " p " sound, for 
instance, being made in the precisely opposite manner 
to the " b " sound. An Anglo-Saxon makes this sound 
by completely drawing in his cheeks; a German by 
completely blowing them out; a Frenchman by com- 



214 Duality of Thought and Language 

pletely drawing in his lips; an Italian by exhausting 
the air from the roof of the mouth. 

To prove that such sound has been produced cor- 
rectly, utter it vocally, or a word in connection with 
it, immediately after producing it. Unless you can 
do so you are on the wrong track. You can, f. i., after 
producing this buzzing " b " sound in the English 
fashion, utter the word " Bible " ; in the German 
fashion the word " Buch.'' In thus uttering these 
words you will notice that you produce them in the 
singing voice, and that you cannot utter them in the 
speaking voice. 

Hence such utterances as that of the buzzing " b " 
sound may be regarded as the basic mode of song 
production. The actual process by which this is 
done is, while continuing to hold on to the sound, to 
reverse the vocal organs, and in so doing amplifying 
or reinforcing the voice. Thus after producing this 
buzzing " b " sound you will involuntarily draw the 
air in again which during its production had been 
blown out. While thus drawing the breath in you 
may utter the vocal " b " sound of the singing voice, 
provided, of course, you will to do so; or, if you are 
a German, you will blow the air out which during the 
production had been drawn in. 

This shows, as before stated, that singing is a 
process produced by a reinforcement of the speaking 
voice. This process is carried on by every nation in 
its own idiomatic mode of sound production. What 
would Mr. Lunn not have given for some one to 
have told him that by his observation he was on 
the very threshold of knowledge! He could not 



Empiricism vs. Science 215 

know that, however, from his ex parte English 
standpoint. 

Another thing: After producing such buzzing 
" b " or any other sound of that class, in any language, 
such sound can be uttered phonetically, provided you 
do not let any time whatever elapse between its ut- 
terance and that of the corresponding phonetic sound. 
A phonetic sound produced in this manner is the 
" simple " sound to the reinforced, or singing voice. 

By reversing this sound again, that is, reducing it 
to a still simpler basis, we arrive at the simple sound 
of the speaking voice. This is the simplest sound 
imaginable, and from its standpoint, which I arrived 
at during my efforts at producing the idiomatic ex- 
pression of the English language, I am indebted to 
all my observations. 

Regarding the " buzzing b " and that entire class 
of sounds, for which a name must yet be invented, 
they evidently occupy a position midway between the 
" simple " sound of the speaking and the " vocal " 
sound of the singing voice. 

To illustrate this, imagine for a moment that you 
had suddenly become frightened and exclaimed " a !" 
This " a " is a " simple " sound of the speaking voice. 
When this fright, however, is suddenly changed into 
joy (at recognizing, for instance, that the intruder is 
a friend) the " ah !" you then utter is the simple sound 
of the singing voice, it being produced by a reversion 
and amplification of the former. When you are 
frightened your entire system shrinks and the entire 
vocal apparatus is reduced to narrowed proportions, 
which joy opens again and amplifies. 



216 Duality of Thought and Language 

Why are these sounds of such importance? The 
true basis to any science is simplicity. We must ad- 
vance from simplicity to complexity, from simple to 
vocal sounds. To be able to arrive at simplicity we 
must first use the analytic and then the synthetic 
course of proceeding. We start from the phenomenon, 
the vocal sound, and after reducing it to the noumenon, 
the simple sound, we again arrive at the phenomenon, 
the vocal sound. After arriving at the thing itself by 
decomposition, we again arrive at what it presents 
to our ear by reconstruction. A phenomenon is the 
crystallization, so to say, of various elements into a 
given form. To arrive at the true nature of a phe- 
nomenon we must reduce it to these elements. I have 
attempted to do this in connection with vocal sounds, 
the syllable and the word. 

In a similar order we can advance from a thorough 
knowledge of sound production in our own language 
to that of other tongues. To attempt to sing in foreign 
tongues without previously possessing some knowl- 
edge regarding sound production in your own tongue, 
is attempting something that cannot properly be done. 
A person once able to properly express himself in his 
mother tongue, will soon be able to guide his voice 
into the proper channels for other tongues, after ob- 
taining, if but in a general way, some knowledge of 
the spirit underlying the same. 

To recapitulate : The simple sound of the singing 
voice is converted into the simple sound of the speak- 
ing voice by reversing its mode of production. F. i., 
after producing the buzzing " b " sound you can by 
a reversion of the vocal organs reduce it to the simple 



Empiricism vs. Science 217 

sound of the singing voice; by again reversing the 
latter's mode of production you can arrive at the 
simple sound of the speaking voice. At any rate, it is 
here clearly shown that the singing voice is but a 
reverse and at the same time amplified order of sound 
production to that of the speaking voice. 

While simple sounds cannot be used for the pro- 
duction of vocal speech or song, they can be used for 
" simple " speech and song, being the outcome of but 
one hemisphere. Yet it is from this mode of speaking 
and singing that so much can be learned in regard 
to the laws governing speech and song. 

There are two " specifics " the " profession " ap- 
plies more than any others for " opening the mouth " 
and "clearing the yoke," as the phrases go; the one 
is the so-called " stroke of the glottis " and the other 
the production of the " ah " sound. These two usages, 
which have been found valuable in some instances, are 
based on experience, but neither has ever been re- 
duced to a scientific basis. 

Regarding the stroke or " shock of the glottis," it 
is evident that by its application, which produces the 
momentary closing of the glottis, the hemisphere of 
the thorax has been placed out of action (hors du 
combat), thus giving it an opportunity to settle, as a 
public speaker or minister sits down for the purpose 
of " collecting " his thoughts before beginning to 
speak. During the brief period of the application of 
the " stroke," and while thinking of the pure " a " 
sound, the sound-producing elements thus have time to 
" settle " ; the influences of the hemisphere of the ab- 
domen being excluded from mingling with those of the 



2i 8 Duality of Thought and Language 

thorax. Every disturbing influence thus being ex- 
cluded, the " a " sound, which had been thought of, 
can be produced in a clear and pure manner. 

In applying that class of sounds described as the 
" buzzing b " sound for " tuning the instrument of 
the voice,'' the consonant " b " does about the same 
thing that the vowel " a " does under those other cir- 
cumstances. Hence these two processes, of the vowel 
" a " and the consonant " b " sound, can also be used 
in combination ; say first the " a " in combination with 
the " shock," and then the buzzing b sound ; first 
the spiritual and then the material. They should be 
experimented upon. I desire these matters, in fact, to 
be looked upon as " suggestions " for experimentation. 

I beg to add one important matter to all of the 
preceding, namely, that the mere thought of a vocal 
sound, either vowel or consonant, for experiments 
answers the same purpose as the vocal utterance of 
the same. 

At the peril of repeating myself I must still add 
the .following, which I copy from a paper written apart 
of and previous to the foregoing : 

In place of using the eternal " ah " sound or the 
" stroke of the glottis," which are so much made of, 
let singers use this buzzing " b " sound as a basis, and 
after uttering, or merely thinking it, they will have an 
unequaled base for pure intonation. What is the 
reason ? 

The basis of vocal utterance is simplicity; it must 
start from a beginning; this beginning is a simple or 
elementary sound, a spiritual element. When it starts 
from a complexity, a " vocal " sound, even the much- 



Empiricism vs. Science 219 

vaunted "ah," it may have and usually has an element 
admixed with it which is not pure. The simple sound, 
though in itself valueless for vocal utterance, being 
always pure, leads up to the purity of vocal utterance, 
not only in speech, but more especially also in song. 

Had Mr. Lunn comprehended this, which of course 
he could not from his standpoint, he would have given 
something to the world of real value in its practical 
application to the art of singing. When a celebrated 
London teacher, on whom I had called, came into 
the room singing " ah ! ah ! ah !" meanwhile looking 
triumphantly at me, I thought he was demented, not 
knowing at the time that this was the only sesame the 
profession possessed " to open the mouth " preparatory 
to emitting pure sounds. 

The profession did not then and does not now 
know that this so-called " opening " of the mouth is 
" tuning " a person from a condition of " speech ut- 
terance " to one of " song utterance," from the outer 
to the inner, the material to the spiritual. 



DISCOVERY OF A " NEW " VOWEL SOUND. 

VOCAL sounds are curious, almost uncanny things. 
At first sight they appear to be of the simplest 
character, innocent of any capacity in themselves be- 
yond that of being productive of special sounds. And 
thus they are simple and innocent as long as they re- 
main by themselves. The moment, however, they are 
allied to other sounds, married, so to say, to sounds of 
the opposite sex, vowel to consonant and consonant to 
vowel, their union becomes fruitful of the most ex- 
traordinary progeny. It produces words representing 
everything living and dead, good and bad, high and 
low, every thought and action, all there is and ever has 
been under and beyond the sun. 

The action thus taking place is an extraordinary 
phenomenon and a study of the most profound nature. 

On a broad basis we distinguish as between vowel 
and consonant sounds. Of these the former represent 
the soul, the latter the body of their union into the 
word. The word when joined to other words repre- 
sents thought in the form of language, written or ut- 
tered aloud. The latter, denominated speech, is the 
main theme of my investigations. 

As all know, there are five basic vowel sounds: 
220 



Discovery of a " New " Vowel Sound 121 

a, e, i, o, u, as pronounced in the Italian manner, and 
very nearly so also in the German and other con- 
tinental European languages. Though pronounced 
differently in English, their Italian pronunciation is 
also the basic element for their English mode of utter- 
ance. 

This is a matter of importance not heretofore suf- 
ficiently accentuated. 

The human body is a musical instrument which, 
though anatomically constructed the same with all 
men, is spiritually " tuned " in a special manner for 
each separate language. The keynote best suited to 
the instrument, as such, seems to be the mode of ex- 
pression of the Italian vowel sounds; the expression 
of consonants in all languages shaping itself auto- 
matically to that of the vowel sounds, in the same man- 
ner as the national body does to the national language, 
or soul, which inhabits it. 

Hence vocal instruction for all languages should 
be based upon the true expression of the Italian vowel 
sounds. 

The truth of this assertion appears more clearly 
in song than in speech, more time being allowed in the 
latter for the full development of the true nature of 
the expression. I am speaking of the pure vowel 
sounds, the diphthongs being a combination of two or 
more pure vowel sounds, though not always of such 
vowel sounds as are usually used in the written lan- 
guage. You will find that you will be unable to utter 
the Italian " a " in connection with the consonants 
" nd " when you want to denote thereby what the 
English word " and " stands for. Your Italian " a " 



222 Duality of Thought and Language 

in that case will nolens volens merge into the "Eng- 
lish a." 

You may try the same with the word " kind," f. i., 
and you will find that when you attempt to utter its 
vowel sound in the Italian fashion it will not be 
possible to do so, but that it will involuntarily merge 
into the English " i " sound. These attempts should 
be made by thinking, not uttering, the Italian sounds. 
The French " u " comes under the same heading. It 
is well therefore to always first " think " of the pure 
Italian sound, as it will be involuntarily changed into 
the correct English sound. 

These few examples must suffice for the present 
in the illustration of this all-important rule, viz., that 
the basic sounds for all languages are as Italians pro- 
nounce them. The vowel " a " is the pivotal sound 
for most languages except the English, the one from 
which all the rest, both vowel and consonant sounds, 
emerge. That is to say, we can, after thinking of 
the pure " a " sound, utter any other vocal sound 
without any change in our vocal organs. This is the 
reason why there is so much made of this sound 
as a means to "clear the channels of expression." 
Still better, however, is the short or obscure " a " for 
this purpose, the clear " a " in reality being an outcome 
of the latter. Take, f. i., the " a " in the German 
word " Abend " as an example of the clear, and the 
" a " in the word " glatt " as an example of the ob- 
scure " a," and you will find that you can evolve the 
former out of the latter very easily, and so you can the 
rest of the vowel sounds. 

The English language, however, forms an excep- 



Discovery of a " New " Vowel Sound 223 

tion to this rule. In place of the English vowel sounds 
emerging from "a" they merge into it. (Hence the 
much-vaunted " a " or " ah " is not of that merit 
which is usually claimed for it.) That is to say, an 
Anglo-Saxon cannot utter the other vowel sounds 
without a change in the vocal organs, immediately 
after thinking of or uttering the English " a " sound, 
but he can utter the " a " sound immediately after 
uttering any of the other vowel sounds as an " out- 
come " thereof, and without undergoing such a change. 
This fact, that the rest of the vowel sounds emerge 
from " a " in all the languages (known to me) except 
the English, in which latter the other vowels merge 
into it, convinced me that there must be a vowel sound 
from which the other vowel sounds emerge in the Eng- 
lish, and into which they merge in other languages. It 
was something on the order of Le Verrier's observa- 
tions regarding the aberrations of the planet Uranus, 
on the strength of which he calculated the position of 
the planet " Neptune " and it was found in that very 
place. The comparison may appear preposterous, and 
so it is, taking the immense amount of labor in the other 
case into consideration. Yet the result of my work, 
though comparatively easy, may in a manner take 
equal rank, when its influence upon vocal utterance will 
have been realized. 

This " new planet " is the well-known vowel sound, 
represented by the letter " o " in such words as god, 
odd, for, nor, hot, lord, lot, loss, got, rob, rock, rod, 
romp, sob, sock, etc. 

This sound is as pure a vowel sound as any of the 
rest, and should take equal rank with the " a " sound. 



224 Duality of Thought and Language 

It is not a composite nor the " short " sound of any 
other, but its utterance is independent of any other 
vowel, it being a pure, basic, elementary sound, not 
related to any other. 

I shall designate this sound with the sign Q, which 
seems to me an easy way of distinguishing it from " o " 
and the other vowels, but shall not in the least object 
to any other sign that may be deemed more appro- 
priate. 

This sound is represented in the German language 
in such words as: Born, Doctor, Docht, Dogma, 
Dolch, Donner, doppel, dort, Folter, fort, Gold, Gott, 
Hopfen, Horn, Hort, von, etc. In the French lan- 
guage by bon, botte, compte, comte, etc. In fact, 
in most of the words in which it is succeeded by " n." 
I shall not continue this exposition of the French, how- 
ever, as my task is a comparative study as between the 
English and German, and not between any other lan- 
guages. It will be easy for any one to trace this sound 
in all the languages he may be familiar with. 

- The vowels therefore should hereafter be repre- 
sented by six sounds in place of five, as heretofore, 
namely, a, Q, e, i, o, u. 

There is a great deal more remaining to be said 
regarding " a " and " Q " as " initial " and " final " 
as in German, and as " final " and " initial " as in 
English, and as in a general sense " dominating " 
these respective languages. Any one acquainted with 
the English language will soon recognize the fact that 
the O is the dominating sound in that language, so 
much so that in a sense it " carries the word " ; that is 
to say, it can be thought of continuously while speak- 



Discovery of a u New " Vowel Sound 225 

ing or singing in the English language. The same 
may be said of " a " in connection with the German 
language. This fact is of especial importance as an 
aid to the proper idiomatic expression. While the Q 
may be subconsciously with you while singing or 
speaking English, and be a help to you, the " a " will 
be a constant disturbance. With Germans the precise 
opposite facts obtain. People will have to learn how 
to utter this sound clearly by itself. It will take some 
little time to do so, as it has heretofore always been 
considered as a version of the " o " sound, and has 
been used in conjunction with other (consonant) 
sounds, and never by itself. 

As all the rest of the colors emerge from white and 
merge into black, so all sounds emerge from " a " and 
merge into " Q." This is the German version of the 
case, but not the English. In the latter language and 
for the latter people all sounds emerge from " Q " 
and merge into " a." While the " a " sound, conse- 
quently, is the most important sound for the German 
language, the " Q " sound is the most important for 
the English language. 

In saying, as I did just now, that all colors emerge 
from white and " merge into black," I do not know 
how far science may sustain me in this last assertion ; 
in a metaphorical sense, however, it is undoubtedly 
correct; for as the colors emerge from the light of 
the morning, so they merge into the dark of the night. 

I have expressed this latter idea in " Duality of 
Voice," pages 165 and 171, in regard to the character- 
istic traits of the German and Anglo-Saxon races. 
When in my German mood, in my imagination the 



226 Duality of Thought and Language 

colors emanate from white and merge into black ; when 
in my English mood the reverse takes place. 

I am reasonably sure of being correct in stating 
that " a " and " O " have the same respective in- 
fluence on the French language that they have on the 
English, showing a closer psychological relationship 
of French to English than of German to English. 

In connection with the preceding I would, for the 
purpose of " clearing the channels of expression " for 
the English language, recommend the use of the syl- 
lable " nor," (nor) which will be found far more effect- 
ive than " ah." This syllable may be either uttered or 
simply thought of. For the German language I recom- 
mend the use of the syllable " matt." In both these 
syllables the most essential sounds, both vowel 
and consonant, in these respective languages are repre- 
sented. These syllables will aid the singer, when they 
are continuously thought of subconsciously, during 
exercises in singing or speaking. 



ADVANCED KNOWLEDGE. 

I was, in the beginning, asked by persons interested 
in vocal utterance what in all the world I could 
possibly have so much to say about it, and why I had 
not devoted myself to that theme alone. That would 
simply have been impossible. The task that has been 
allotted to me is so vast, so all-embracing, that no one 
thing stands by itself alone. After all that has been 
said, and that I shall be able to say during the short 
span of life still allotted to me, it should not be diffi- 



Advanced Knowledge 227 

cult for others to extract from the same a manual for 
the guidance of singers and elocutionists. 

Man being an entity, he must be viewed as such, 
for anything profitable to be evolved from a study of 
his nature. The act of dissecting him and viewing him 
in parts will never solve the mystery, as no one 
part will tell on or of another, each preserving its 
own secret. 

I have not established any new " method," but I 
have established principles upon which correct methods 
can be established, while heretofore numberless 
methods were originated without any correct under- 
lying principles at all. 

The human, and more particularly the Anglo- 
Saxon, mind, is a vessel which, though solidly built 
materially, that is in the recognition of material things, 
is without a well-defined spiritual rudder. Hence its 
sails are fluttering in the breeze among hundreds of 
doctrines and creeds, not only religiously, but in many 
other respects as well. 

In vocal utterance it has developed the larynx to 
an endless number of cults, which, as none are based 
upon scientific truths, have but served to obscure the 
mind and to pervert the natural faculty. 

When we think of the instrument of the voice we 
generally have in mind the lungs as a reservoir of air, 
the larynx, with its vocal cords, as the instrument 
proper, and the upper part of the oral cavity as the 
resonance chamber of the sounds produced by the 
action of the exhaled air upon the vocal cords. 

These parts form but a comparatively small part of 
the human body. When we think of a musical instru- 



228 Duality of Thought and Language 

ment, on the other hand, we consider every part of that 
instrument as essential to the production of music from 
the same. We must thus also view the entire human 
body as forming the instrument productive of vocal ut- 
terance. Various parts, or vessels, may be looked upon 
as separate instruments which, acting together, are 
productive of that great orchestral performance de- 
nominated " vocal utterance " in all its various phases. 
Vocal utterance may be extracted from the instrument 
of the human body in the shape of speech, rhetoric or 
song, with a true knowledge of the causes productive 
of the same. Comprehending these causes will enable 
us to overcome obstacles in the way of a superior, if 
not perfect production of these various efforts. 

What would I be without the power of thought and 
speech ? A nonentity, a meaningless thing. They make 
me what I am. They are the outcome of my entire in- 
dividuality, not of the brain alone and the vocal cords. 

Every man, no matter what race or nation he may 
belong to, is naturally gifted with the production of 
vocal utterance; though in some isolated instances 
there may be obstacles in the way of its proper per- 
formance. 

If all were not gifted with a spiritual influence in 
correspondence with a material one, how could the 
physiologico-psychological miracle in a child com- 
mencing to speak ever take place, and in all children 
alike ? 

All may perfect this gift in proportion to the ex- 
tent that they are gifted. Yet as in our republic laws 
may be democratic, and on general principles apply to 
all alike, the laws of nature and the agencies instru- 
mental in executing them follow " aristocratic " lines 



Advanced Knowledge 229 

and principles. The cosmos in its tendencies is not 
a democracy, but an aristocracy. It is built on ascend- 
ing lines, towards which, however, all may " aspire " ; 
ever onward, ever higher. 

That our spirit in vocal utterance in its various 
phases and aspects is intimately connected with every 
part of the body, I have already shown; various 
parts of the spirit being assigned to various parts of 
the body somewhat on the same order that phrenolo- 
gists have assigned such parts to the brain. That 
which has been theoretical with the latter, regarding 
the brain, I have positively ascertained regarding 
various parts of the body. These parts of the body 
and their spiritual properties correspond with parts 
of the brain as their complementary factors; such 
correspondence being established through the medium 
of the lymphatic, circulatory and nervous systems. 

The lymphatic system is the tone-producing part 
of the great instrument of the voice — the circulatory 
of the emotions. Between these two the sympathetic 
nervous system mediates and unites them into one 
stream of soulful utterance. Upon closely listening 
you can hear the emotions trembling along the ordi- 
narily limpid tones of the voice, mingling with them, 
but never uniting with them as in one and the same 
fluidum. 

Singers will do well to bear this trinity constantly 
in mind. The tone flowing through the channels of 
the lymphatic, the emotions trembling along those of 
the circulatory system, and the sympathetic nerves, 
carrying the one from and to the other until they min- 
gle together in unison and as in one stream. 

In intimate connection with the anatomy of the 



230 Duality of Thought and Language 

body we are the possessors of a " spiritual anatomy," 
which is inwoven and interwoven with the former 
throughout our entire system. In this manner the ex- 
ercise of our faculties is ever the outcome of spiritual- 
material forces. 

This is what is called "advanced knowledge"; 
yet it is but the dawn of knowledge regarding our- 
selves. I feel sorry for that which is in the arrear. I 
know full well that my knowledge before long will 
be in the arrear in comparison with that which will 
grow out of it. I feel as Johannes must have felt, 
who, while baptizing the Christ, was kneeling before 
him. I thus feel regarding the greater knowledge of 
the future before which I am already now bending my 
knee. 

I do not claim that what I have stated is perfect. 
I have been overwhelmed with this knowledge. 

Nor has it come to me all at one time. By no 
means. It has been evolved slowly, gradually and 
laboriously. Hence much of what had at one time 
been looked upon as perfect in its way has been sup- 
plemented by additional light. Not being able to 
write it all over again from my present standpoint I 
have had to let much of it remain as at first written. 

I am still praying for help, assistance and guid- 
ance. Others must come to the rescue. The uni- 
versities must take up this work. If this generation 
will not do it, the next assuredly will. 



APPENDIX 



MUSICIANS. 

IF editors are unwilling, why do not singers, teachers, 
and the public at large come to my aid? Musical 
journals fight shy of these matters. They dare not 
discredit what has for so long been, and is to this day, 
held to be the basis of vocal teaching. But the pro- 
fession is no wise to blame for having worked along 
lines which science has heretofore upheld as true and 
unquestionably correct. 

These studies will eventually not only place the 
subject of vocal utterance, but will place the 
entire subject of our human existence upon a higher 
plane. They comprise the underlying thought upon 
which a religion of humanity in which all men can 
join may eventually be built. 

It does not speak well for the intelligence of mu- 
sicians that they should be willing to continue ham- 
mering away at the hard and unimpressionable ma- 
terial the scientists have supplied them with after 
higher laws have been offered to their consideration, 
but they let this higher and true knowledge go by 
default and continue to waste their time and that of 
their pupils on base and worthless issues. 

I do not, of course, expect anything to be accepted 
231 



232 Duality of Thought and Language 

on faith. But when a science is in such deplorable 
straits as that of vocal utterance it would seem the 
duty of those interested to at least investigate matters 
offered them, which bear so greatly the impress of the 
truth. 

It is a fatal error on the part of vocal teachers to 
look to physiologists for aid in their vocation. It is 
impossible for physiologists to explain the process of 
vocal utterance by such methods as they employ, which 
embrace but what can be learned through the senses, 
vocal utterance being a process of the mind directing 
the action of the body by subtle means, unknown, and, 
in conformity with its present methods, unknowable 
to science. Hence all this sickening error. Musicians 
must teach physiologists, not vice versa. They have, 
or at least should have, the insight, not these. That 
Balaam's ass should have actually spoken does not 
seem near as improbable as that our modern scientists 
should be able to do so by the simple aid of the vocal 
cords and the expired air. He at least was fitted out 
by nature as a " perfect " ass, possessing every faculty 
of such a being. To be able to speak by the aid of 
such things, however, as those gentlemen claim to do, 
is a miracle far in advance of Balaam's experience. 

Musical journals and many teachers, though all 
desirous of the truth, never dreamt that when it came 
it would assume so imposing an appearance. They 
had dreamt of it in a mild form, as a recipe they 
could easily take ; not as a cure requiring months, nay, 
years. Hence they stand aghast and shrink from ap- 
proaching it. 

The reasons cited by musicians for their seeming 



Appendix 2-33 

indifference are that a pioneer is but too often a vic- 
tim. Advanced ideas must come to the front slowly; 
they cannot be promulgated by the actual worker 
whose professional career is at stake, and which might 
be jeopardized thereby. 

Who can blame them ? No one, if their arguments 
were right; if they already had some kind of a basis 
to stand upon. But they confess that they have not; 
that they are working in the dark. What then is there 
to jeopardize where there is nothing to lose? Will 
they risk anything by improving their method? Will 
not their scholars soon realize the advantage and be 
thankful therefor? I venture to make the remark that 
all who enjoy a reputation to-day will have to come 
around to the study of these vital principles, if they 
want to retain their position and the prestige which 
surrounds it at the present time. It being too great 
a study for pupils of the ordinary kind, the teacher 
who has grasped the subject will be "master " more 
than ever. Nor will it be given to everybody to fully 
grasp it. There will always be graduations in its com- 
prehension and grades in the mode of applying it for 
the purposes of teaching. 

Musicians, as a rule, still hug the larynx to their 
hearts and sing themselves hoarse by singing in a 
wrong direction. In the direction of a narrow physi- 
cal sidetrack, in place of that of the broad roadway of 
the eternal soul. It is true a good many are using my 
book clandestinely, but that is wrong, as my work is 
not yet fully developed. What is needed at present is 
discussion and further development, for the purpose 
of arriving at well-defined modes of instruction. 



234 Duality of Thought and Language 

Why should musicians not exchange their poverty 
for my riches? Why not assist in raising their voca- 
tion from a mere mechanical endeavor to a science and 
an art? A science of a high order, whose aim is to 
explain the process by which the spirit enables the 
body, or vice versa, to translate the thought into the 
living word. 

The knowledge of the " voice " as such, even when 
understood, will be but a beggarly substitute for what 
the voice in a wider sense really stands for. They pre- 
fer travelling thousands of miles at an expense of 
thousands of dollars to seek information from teachers 
who have not any to offer, to sitting quietly down to 
the study of such a book as "Duality of Voice," which 
would do them a vast deal more good. 

Had I been the inventor of some patent medicine 
for the " vocal cords," no matter how worthless, thou- 
sands of bottles would have been sold at a price equal 
to that of my book and with scarcely an effort on my 
part. Bitter irony of human endeavor to discard the 
truth and obstinately cling to fatal error. 

While so-called " great teachers " are reaping 
golden harvests, the " truth " is begging hard to be 
heard simply for its own sake. No compensation is 
asked and none expected. 

The other day, while feeling somewhat despondent, 
methought I overheard a conversation something like 
the following: 

The Voice, in a beggarly attire and attitude : Will 
not some kind person help a starving soul ? Haunted, 
persecuted, maltreated by a thousand insane issues, I 
do not know where to find refuge. 



Appendix 235 

The Author: I will help you, good soul. I know 
you are a gentlewoman, come down to these rags, 
muscles, vocal cords and the foul expired air, through 
ignorance and the materiality of the age. 

The Voice: But they won't let you. I have been 
captured by freebooters, who have robbed me of my 
freedom, to coin me into money. They sometimes 
exhibit me as an anatomical model of the larynx, like 
a freak in a dime museum, or keep me incarcerated, 
as in a lunatic asylum, by using language about me 
no sane person can understand and none has ever been 
able to profit by. Instead of helping me they are kill- 
ing me through torture, inch by inch. 

The Author: Yet in rare instances you still live in 
the full glory of your heavenly mission. Hence the 
conditions for proper voice production still exist; but 
the insight is wanting to the teacher. In discovering 
the voice of the oesophagus I obtained the knowledge 
of the duality of your nature. Ever since that time 
I have endeavored to free you from your thraldom, 
but the world of to-day is governed by material issues, 
and it seems difficult for it to comprehend what is of 
the soul and eternal. 

The Voice: Oh, do not despair. Thousands of 
years have I passed in my misery. I have been tor- 
tured, not only in the singer, but in the abuse I have 
suffered by men in their speech. But it is in the 
singer I have most suffered, for he should be my 
greatest jewel. I have seen men burnt at the stake for 
possessing a higher insight than their tormentors; 
yet their misery was shortlived, their bodies being of 
the earth. But I am eternal, and though every effort 



236 Duality of Thought and Language 

has been made to kill me by those who have attempted 
to coin me into money, and by others whp have candid- 
ly believed in false doctrines, I have outlived every tor- 
ture. For you must know, poor and destitute as I am 
to-day, I am the daughter of the spirit of light, the 
sister of thought and knowledge, the creator of civiliza- 
tion and progress, the inspirer of love, joy and good 
tidings and of all that is high and holy among men. 

It is through a knowledge of my true character, 
such as you seem to possess, that men will attain an in- 
sight into their own nature and of their own mission 
on earth, for I am the living representative of their 
soul. 

I have lived millions of years before man developed 
into a semblance of what he is to-day, and I shall con- 
tinue to live in higher beings who will succeed him, 
after every vestige of the man of to-day shall have 
vanished from the earth. Cheer up and write, for you 
have the true insight. 



" DUALITY OF VOICE " AND JOURNALISM. 

I feel constrained to speak at some length upon 
the mode of vocal teaching now in vogue in com- 
parison with that by which I am attempting to replace 
it, and must necessarily, though reluctantly, enter 
somewhat into personal matters connected therewith. 
This seems to be necessary in view of the fact that 
my studies have been suppressed rather than furthered 



Appendix 237 

by musical and scientific journals in this country. 
There is naturally a fear that upon becoming known 
they may upset much of what has heretofore been 
looked upon as science and will shake the public faith 
in the value of vocal and other teaching as heretofore 
carried on. Thus the calamity of false teaching is 
going on in spite of the truth having been proclaimed, 
to the detriment, yea, often destruction, of natural 
gifts and the health and fortune of their possessors. 

When the movement to which I have given the 
first impulse will have attained its full velocity, it will 
stir up the world as it has never been before, as the 
defense, from a strictly scientific standpoint, of the 
spiritual in man's nature as against the material, and 
an exposition of the fact that, while they are correlated 
during life, the most masterful, spiritual, survives the 
material. 

While thus this movement, in the future, will be 
acknowledged to be of the first importance, the prin- 
ciples underlying it are of immediate and vital im- 
portance to that expression of spirituality known as 
vocal art. There is no denying the fact that it has 
already made its presence felt, and that it has stirred 
up the musical world to its very depths wherever it 
has become known. On the other hand, I am sorry 
to state that the self-constituted exponents of this art, 
the editors of musical journals in this country, have 
as yet abstained from noticing my work for fear of 
offending their clients, the music teachers, most of 
whom, ignorant of my teachings, still adhere to the 
old systems. I must give editors of musical journals 
credit, however, for having, in consequence of my 



238 Duality of Thought and Language 

publications, abandoned as obsolete the advocacy of 
theories connected with the supposed physical instru- 
ment of the voice with which their journals, formerly, 
had been filled. While they have thus tacitly acknowl- 
edged the correctness of my statements, they have not 
as yet found it expedient to publicly support them, or 
to even thus notice them. 

When I first offered the manuscript of "Duality ol 
Voice " to an English publisher he returned it to me, 
saying : " No matter how true all this may be, how 
weighty and important, the English people are ' hide- 
bound ' ; they stick to their traditions, and it is diffi- 
cult to move them into any new direction. With you 
it is different; yours is a new country, everything 
there is fresh, and the people are open to new convic- 
tions," etc. " You will also find," he said, "that after 
you have published your work everybody will try to 
rob you of its benefits." That was his narrow business 
point of view. 

That night, when I returned to my quarters over- 
looking Trafalgar Square, amid the thundering noise 
of a thousand carriages rolling along its pavement, I 
said to myself, " How can I ever raise my voice suffi- 
ciently to be heard above this tumult, which represents 
the tumult of the world, the false doctrine, the ma- 
terial interests dominating every issue, the ignorance 
and the prejudice of the multitude?" And see, the 
very people among whom I then was, and who had 
been derided, were the first to listen to me, while my 
countrymen, who had been praised, stood aloof, fear- 
ing to jeopardize their interests. 

Most of the English musical journals, after receiv- 



Appendix 239 

ing a copy of " Duality of Voice," published a review 
of it, some at great length, very cordial and sympa- 
thetic. 

My experience is the same as that of a host of 
others who have labored for something beyond the 
ordinary comprehension and compensation of the hour. 
Yet I do not want to pose as a martyr; it would be 
absurd. Personally I have not suffered beyond disap- 
pointment in matters which, perhaps, I had no right 
to expect to be clearly understood during the decade 
of years which have elapsed since I first brought them 
to the public notice. My life meantime has been il- 
lumined by this knowledge, and I know the hour will 
come when it will illumine the world. It may not 
come before this soul and body have taken flight in 
opposite directions, but it will come. I only mourn 
over the fact that my endeavors have as yet been so 
little understood, and that in consequence the suffer- 
ing I attempted to alleviate should continue unabated 
almost as before. 

Lest those not acquainted with my work should 
think I am assuming too much, I beg to submit the 
following extract from an article in the London " Mu- 
sical Opinion/' of September, 1900, on " Duality of 
Voice " : " The book is not one to be trampled upon 
in controversy ; the earnestness of the man who wrote 
it forbids that; there is nothing self-vaunting in it. 
He does not say, ' Stand by, I am wiser than thou/ 
He believes in himself as one chosen to reveal." 

For the sake of acquainting those perhaps not " au 
fait " with the status of what is called the science of 
the voice, as viewed up to this time, I beg to submit 



240 Duality of Thought and Language 

some extracts from a journal specially devoted to that 
science. Volumes might be filled with such writings 
for the delectation of future generations. I shall con- 
fine myself to a single number of a single magazine, 
viz., the October, 1899, number of " Werner's Maga- 
zine, " which I have before me, that number alone 
furnishing sufficient material for all these purposes. 

On page 102 you can read the following: "The 
physiology of speech is perfectly understood, and we 
know exactly what takes place during the speech act, 
when speech is normal. Voice is primarily sound, and 
as such belongs to the department of acoustics in 
physics. . . . The action of the voice-apparatus has 
long been logically proven to come under the laws 
governing all other sounds. We even class the voice 
as an instrument and exact from it the same obedience 
to the laws governing its kind that we do of instru- 
ments of man's construction. Scientific investigations 
(dissection and the use of the laryngoscope) have sim- 
ply verified our conclusions," etc. 

The author of the article of which the above is an 
excerpt is a teacher for the cure of stuttering. Is it 
possible that those entrusted to the care of a man 
standing on such ground can gain anything from his 
teaching ? 

To this article the editor of " Werner's Magazine, " 
on page 107 of the same number, replies as follows : 
" Do we know positively whether in normal speech the 
thyroid cartilage draws up the cricoid cartilage or 
whether the cricoid cartilage pulls down the thyroid 
cartilage? Do we accept or do we reject the false- 
cord theory of Charles Lunn? Can we state definitely 



Appendix 241 

just what sounds are made by outcoming air, and 
what sounds are made by ingoing air; what sounds are 
made by air from lungs, what sounds with air from 
stomach, and what are the sounds that get no further 
than the back part of the pharynx ? These are only a 
few of the many perplexing questions confronting the 
vocal scientist," etc. 

Again he says, " The voice is not an instrument 
merely, but is at the same time an instrument plus the 
player of the instrument. It demands much more 
than an instrument of man's construction. We should 
tell the stutterer not to bother himself with ' how ' 
the agents — nerve, cartilage, muscle, entire organs — 
move to perform their functions, but to concentrate 
himself on the thought he wishes to express and then 
' will ' to speak, not by forcing organs, but by letting 
them take care of themselves." 

I call attention to the lines in italics, and want to ask 
whether Mr. Werner, who for twenty-four years has 
devoted himself to the science of the voice as a writer, 
and publisher of a magazine, specially devoted to that 
purpose, would, or even could, have expressed himself 
as here indicated previous to the appearance of my 
books? Mr. Werner has been from the beginning 
deeply interested in them, yet he has not dared to al- 
lude to them in his magazine except in this clandestine 
manner. Being the publisher of a number of works in 
connection with the old system, he no doubt feels shy 
of bringing the new to the front. When Mr. Werner 
published my first book, " The Basic Law of Vocal 
Utterance," he made a brave fight for the same. The 
only time he ever alluded to my work since (and there 



242 Duality of Thought and Language 

were special reasons for his doing so at this time) 
was in the June number of " Werner's Magazine," when 
he said : " ' How long, oh, how long/ cries Mr. Sutro, 
' will vocal teachers persist in clinging to error, mas- 
querading as vocal science, chaperoned by tradition, 
even the respectable and venerable tradition of the 
"old Italian school" ?' 

" If Mr. Sutro's theory of vocal air use be correct 
and a vocal method be based upon it, many of the 
problems that have so long baffled the vocal profession 
will be solved. Vocal instruction will lose many of its 
delays and dangers and an epoch of increased artistic 
voice-users will be inaugurated. If such a condition 
shall be effected much credit will be due Mr. Emil 
Sutro for having so long, so patiently and courageous- 
ly fought the battle for vocal enlightenment and eman- 
cipation." 

But to return to the October number of " Werner's 
Magazine, " on page no you can read the following: 
" A beautiful illustration of good production is found 
by blowing out the cheeks and putting vocal tone 
through them. What the compressed air in the blown 
out cheeks when sounding the buzzed sustained con- 
sonant b } is to our vocal tone, associated with lip re- 
sistance, that the compressed air in the blown out 
ventricles is to the invisible artistic voice. In brief, 
the point of resistance of the old school is suppressed 
escape at false cords with voice added to it, and this 
physical equilibrium — the hydrostatics of voice — has 
its mental equivalent, a perfect physically unfelt con- 
trol. The superior laryngeal nerve acts upon the crico- 
thyroid muscle and the inferior constrictor muscle. 



Appendix 243 

The crico-thyroid muscle pulls together the thyroid 
and cricoid cartilages, both ascending, and the effect 
of this action is to tighten the vocal cords and con- 
sequently to raise the pitch. This intrinsic muscle 
owes its action to a nerve-energy directed downward 
through the superior laryngeal nerve. Thus much for 
direction of Will or thinking downward against the 
initial automatic upward pressure." 

This is by Mr. Charles Lunn, the learned author 
of " Philosophy of Voice," who has established a new 
school on a theory connected with the " false cords," 
and is actually giving singing lessons on this theory 
as a basis. Why not base a theory on the nostrils, the 
eyelids, or the eardrums, which at least vibrate in sym- 
pathy with vocal sounds ? It would have been far bet- 
ter. But supposing all Mr. Lunn asserts to be true, in 
what manner would that assist the student of vocal 
utterance ? 

Mr. Lunn is a shining light of the realistic school, 
though not quite as much of a materialist as some oth- 
ers, being really a person of greater intelligence and 
originality of thought than many others who have 
written on the voice. 

I shall not trouble the reader with any more such 
comico-tragic disquisitions ; comic in seriously treating 
a subject devoid of sense, tragic in its sad conse- 
quences to the singer. Such erudition in its barbarous 
splendor resembles that of the Roman Catholic Church 
in the use of the Latin, and the Jewish in that of the 
Hebrew tongue, to impress, but not to be understood 
by, the vast majority of their parishioners ; the learn- 
ing of the Roman augurs, in the state and position of 



244 Duality of Thought and Language 

the entrails of the sacrificial victims, denoting the 
divine will; the wisdom of the astrologer interpreting 
the influence of the stars upon the destiny of men; a 
syllabus of contention against common sense by the 
Pope, etc. 

It will be seen further from the above there is an 
" old school " and a " new school " even in this science 
of the larynx, making confusion worse confounded. 
Mr. Charles Lunn, the high priest of the " new 
school," has done me the honor of reviewing " Duality 
of Voice " in two numbers of London " Music." His 
" new school" and my " new school " have very little 
in common. His " new school," together with the old, 
will never be missed. They are the mere semblance 
of a thing, a shadow, which, in lieu of something real, 
was seized upon as a substance and used for a basis 
to a " science." 

After soundly berating me for my shortcomings, 
as he views them, Mr. Lunn's honest English heart 
could not help but admit " that ' Duality of Voice ' is 
a reaction against the gross materialism which char- 
acterizes the works that of late years have appeared 
on the subject of the voice. Mr. Sutro rightly places 
the spiritual side first, etc.," and then adds, " How 
far the readers can accept his views is for each reader 
to decide." 

Poor, aspiring, sensitive singers ! This science, the 
old as well as the new, must be quite enough to make 
them gasp and almost drive the last breath out of them, 
instead of filling them with joy and a soulful compre- 
hension of and love for the beautiful gift nature has 
bestowed upon them. 



Appendix 245 

I do not want to complicate matters worse than 
they are already. On the contrary, I want to prove 
that these intricate and soulless studies are destructive 
rather than beneficial. To my way of thinking, they 
already are dead issues of the past; issues which in 
reality never have been alive, having been hallucina- 
tions of the mind, abortions from their first concep- 
tion, the mere thought of a material issue, unless in 
combination with a spiritual one, being a hindrance to 
the production of pure tone. 

In distinct contrast to the elaborate teaching of 
Mr. Lunn are written " singing lessons " emanating 
from a far-famed Paris studio, which are just now 
making the round of the press, and which have all 
the fascination of the boudoir, combined with the 
smell of the boarding-house school about them, where 
" Louise, Rose, Marie and blonde Bertha " are intro- 
duced to the mysterious fairy "song" with the unction 
and insinuating " grace " of the duenna, using artifice 
rather than art, and little household remedies, once 
supposed to be effective in place of the truth of science. 
The scholars belong to many different nationalities, 
but that is no obstacle in the way of their polyglot 
education, which is of a uniform nature for them all. 
It seems impossible that good results should be ob- 
tained; yet it appears to be the genius and intuition 
of the principal that she has succeeded in not hinder- 
ing at least the development of some great voices, 
while on the whole there must have been more harm 
done than good by such teaching. 

Thus, while intuition, in some exceptional cases, 
may be able to lead scholars into proper channels, 



246 Duality of Thought and Language 

teachers, as a class, must be guided by science, that 
is, by true and not abortive knowledge, as heretofore, 
if good results are to be attained. 

In an article on the " Volta Bureau," in the Janu- 
ary number of his magazine, Mr. Werner makes use 
of the following language : " He who attempts to 
break the bonds of enthralled speech comes into close 
contact with the soul ; the veil that hides the secret of 
life seems thinner as we approach the springs and 
centres of speech. The realm where factors of material 
voice meet and respond to factors of spiritual voice, is 
terra incognita; the science of voice production has 
only begun to dawn; we grope and only at intervals 
catch glimpses of light. Therefore he who even a 
little dispels the darkness that now envelops the voice 
deserves recognition and thanks." 

What light has Mr. W. found to enable him to 
use such language if he did not get it from " Duality 
of Voice'? It has never before shown in his or in 
any other publication on the voice. He evidently fears 
to name the source it came from and his allusion to 
me, as well as his recognition and thanks, are for the 
nonce. 

He thus feared to print an article I sent him in 
reply to an unjust, harsh and cruel criticism of " The 
Basic Law of Vocal Utterance," which appeared in his 
journal of October, 1898, and which I beg to produce 
now. My critic, Mr. Louis Arthur Russell, has had 
over five years' time to apologize for his vindictive at- 
tack, but has failed to do so, though I have reason to 
believe that he has since felt heartily ashamed of it; yet 
he has not had the manliness to come forward in con- 



Appendix 247 

fession of his error, nor has any other writer come to 
my defence. His article still stands to-day unrefuted. 
This fact alone should be sufficient justification for 
me to produce my reply which Mr. Werner refused to 
print. The latter, after having previously been my 
friend and advocate, returned me the article in an 
abrupt and discourteous manner, saying, " You have 
not proved anything." As if anything truly scientific 
had ever been proven regarding the voice previous to 
my publications. 

The fact is, Mr. Werner all at once found himself 
in water beyond his depth. He never dreamed what 
this matter he had at first so warmly espoused would 
lead to. He turned out to be a small politician, intent 
only upon his personal interest and that of his constitu- 
ents, and not the far-seeing statesman I had first 
thought him to be. My defence was not wanted. He 
feared to displease his patrons, the teachers of the old 
and narrow faith, and also feared for the fate of his 
many publications on matters in connection therewith. 
This was the beginning of the crusade of suppression 
against me, which is still going on at the present time. 

As the article throws light on the then state of 
affairs, which still continues, I feel doubly justified 
in producing it at this time. I want to add, however, 
that I have not the slightest personal feeling against 
either Mr. Werner, Mr. Russell, or any other person in 
connection with this work, which I consider a matter 
beyond any " personal " feeling. I must say these 
things in vindication of my standpoint. Science oc- 
cupies so lofty a position, unless refuted by science, 
that no contention of the hour can tarnish its eternal 
truths. 



h8 Duality of Thought and Language 

I give the article verbatim as originally written : 

To the Editor of " Werner's Magazine : " After 
patiently waiting over four years for a criticism of 
my book, " The Basic Law of Vocal Utterance/' 1 
one has at last made its appearance in the October, 
1898, number of " Werner's Magazine." It is the first 
criticism I have seen, though Mr. Russell, the writer 
thereof, states he has already done me the honor of re- 
viewing my book at an earlier period. 

Mr. Louis Arthur Russell treats this book in a 
hilarious vein and speaks about it as if its reading had 
afforded him a " good time." I fear I shall have to 
spoil his good humor for him a bit and reduce him to 
a state of sobriety, if such a condition is at all possible 
with him. 

Mr. Russell has found some flaws and delights in 
pointing them out as a man who would criticise a 
priceless painting by calling attention to some minor 
defects in the drawing, but with a total incapacity for 
comprehending its motif and the genius of the master 
who produced it. 

Nor do I at all admit the correctness of his criti- 
cism, even on these minor points; they are of too 
trivial a nature, however, to enter into any controversy 
about them. Still, this book of mine, I will admit, 
was a mistake in so far as it spoke of great things 
before they had been fully matured and comprehended. 

What discoveries, however, in physiology, at the 
time of their first publication, ever had been fully 
matured ? Are there, in fact, any matters connected 
with life, that have ever been fully understood ? 

1 Published by Mr. Werner in 1894. 



Appendix 249 

My book was written a year after my discovery 
of the voice of the oesophagus, a discovery which, when 
once fully comprehended, will be looked upon as 
greater, in a physio-psychical sense, than any that has 
preceded it. I was so full of it that I thought it my 
duty to acquaint the world with it. 

Since then four years have elapsed closely devoted 
to these studies. During this time these matters have 
never been absent from my mind; not even when I 
was engaged in other pursuits, having been with me 
subconsciously always. 

The truths laid down in my book, " The Basic Law 
of Vocal Utterance," have thus been expanded in 
every direction, so that they have now assumed the 
shape of a complete outline of a new science ; a science 
which treats of " life '* in a far different manner from 
the one in which it has been treated heretofore. 

I do not want to be immodest; but the time has 
come when I must at least dare to be true; when I 
must no longer shirk the question of notoriety, if that 
must come, and which I abhor, but must speak out and 
say what I have to say. 

I am now reviewing that portion of these matters 
which has been written out and which I expect to 
soon have in the hands of my publishers. (The same 
has since appeared under the title of " Duality of 
Voice.") Mr. Russell will then once more have the 
opportunity of ventilating his humor upon me. 

The question of vocal utterance as a science is one 
about which the world has been, and I am bold enough 
to assert, apart from my publications, still is totally in 
the dark. It has been treated within the narrowest 



250 Duality of Thought and Language 

possible limits, and from a technical point of view 
only. Yet it is paramount a question of life. In place 
of going to the lower animals and the dead, and in- 
vestigating a solitary issue, that of the larynx, I have 
deeply entered into the issues of life inherent in my- 
self ; and if, in so doing, I have made discoveries far 
in advance of any that have hitherto been made, it 
is not the province of such a " superficiality " as Mr. 
Russell to " poke fun at them." 

That which does not reach such persons through 
their " senses " does not exist for them. 

Yet the question of the voice is one of spirituality 
far more than one of materiality; one which appeals 
to the soul and can only be comprehended by the soul ; 
that is, by men spiritually disposed, with a spiritual 
bend in their composition. 

That there must be a material way, however, with 
whose assistance the soul in vocal utterance manifests 
itself, is self-evident. 

To arrive at the knowledge of the manner in which 
these spiritual-material phenomena manifest them- 
selves requires just a little more of spirituality than 
such men as my critic happens to be possessed of. 

Persons like Mr. Russell may consider all this 
ridiculous, saying we can not possibly know anything 
about these things. Yet what I know about them I 
have in the first instance learned by patiently, atten- 
tively, and persistently listening to and watching na- 
ture in the production of vocal sounds from their 
incipiency to their full development. Though this 
process to the common ear may appear to be instan- 
taneous, yet there exists such a state of gradual de- 



Appendix 251 

velopment. I shall in my forthcoming and future pub- 
lications furnish indubitable proof of the truth and 
the exactness of my observations. 

This knowledge has been arrived at by means of 
introspection, a mode of proceeding I was in the be- 
ginning unconsciously led into, but which was after- 
wards adopted consciously and with phenomenal 
success. If these discoveries could have been made 
by the usual methods the world would not have waited 
for me to make them. They would have been made 
centuries ago ; even a Mr. Russell of a past generation 
might have made them. 

I was led to success by this mode of investigation 
through unabatedly persevering in one and the same 
direction; namely, the attempt at comprehending and 
fathoming the cause of the difference as between 
English and German vocal sounds in their mode of 
production. This led me into the comprehension of 
the origin and character of all vocal sounds. 

About this endeavor Mr. Russell facetiously re- 
marks : " Mr. Sutro might with the same false phi- 
losophy say, did he try French or Italian, that the 
one used an ear, the other an eye, till at last he would 
be at a loss where to place the seat of control for the 
hundreds of languages of the world." 

Oh, Mr. Russell, you have surely raised the laugh 
on me by this witty remark, but not for long; the 
tables will be turned on you by and by. You will then 
find out how grossly ignorant you have been. 

My labor has been that of a chemist engaged upon 
analytical work of the most delicate nature. While 
surrounded by my retorts, vials, delicate scales and 



i$i Duality of Thought and Language 

other apparatus, Mr. Russell rushes in upon me like 
a wild man, trying to upset them all. But he utterly 
fails in so doing, not even creating the slightest dis- 
turbance. This work will go on in spite of such per- 
sons, and the time will come when they will cry 
"Pecccm!" 

To this work there will be no end. It will occupy 
the life of serious men and women hereafter for cen- 
turies to come. 

Let us hear further what Mr. Russell has to say: 

"Such essays, far from warranting serious atten- 
tion as revelations of scientific progress, do worse than 
no good. They are positively baneful, and loud and 
frequent warnings should be sounded that the young 
student-reader especially may be saved from their pos- 
sibly baneful influence." 

This is a terrible charge, but no more terrible than 
the one which was hurled at Socrates when he was 
accused of " reviling the gods »and corrupting the 
youths of Athens." 

I plead guilty to both these charges: I positively 
deny the existence of Mr. Russell's gods presiding 
over vocal utterance. I decry as absurd " the dogma 
of the larynx," and all the deductions that have ever 
been made therefrom. I declare as equally false and 
absurd every theory heretofore advanced in regard to 
our mode of breathing. 

I cannot stomach these gods any more than Soc- 
rates could those of his time, and am seriously intent 
upon " corrupting the young student-reader " into 
abandoning them and placing in their stead the 
agencies which preside over the mystery of life and 
produce the miracle of the voice. 



Appendix ^S3 

No doubt Mr. Russell would like to hand me the 
cup of poison after this to get rid of me, as they did 
of him who had become so " inconvenient " to their 
traditions, and with whose teachings mine thus bear 
a faint resemblance. 

Again Mr. Russell says : " In no other line of 
thought would a man dare to send a manuscript to a 
publisher, and I think that no publisher in any other 
branch of science would put his imprint on a book 
professedly scientific and philosophical, which in its 
preface professes utter ignorance," etc. 

I candidly confess I was at first greatly perturbed 
at not being able to reconcile that which I had recog- 
nized as true with that which had heretofore been 
supposed to be so. Being new to me, I was fearful 
of blundering, and I was " naive " enough to say so. 
Of this position, in which I was unavoidably placed, 
Mr. Russell has taken an undue advantage. 

As for Mr. Werner, the publisher of my book 
" The Basic Law of Vocal Utterance," he has the 
intuition for comprehending great things even before 
he has been able to master them in detail, because he 
has the heart for comprehending them. 

He has also the courage and the generosity of 
spirit of " risking something " ; of braving the opinion 
and the prejudice of the Philistine, who is afraid of 
stepping aside from the conventional pathway, and is 
forever travelling along the old beaten track. 1 

Mr. Russell says: "How can the profession have 
confidence in any of the theories when so many fall 
to pieces at the first blow ? " 

1 Since writing the above I have had a sorrowful experience with 
Mr. Werner's "courage and generosity of spirit." 



254 Duality of Thought and Language 

Mr. Russell has not given them any blow whatso- 
ever. He merely denies their truth. That is a serious 
blow for them, no doubt, coming from such a source. 
The only attempt Mr. Russell made to probe into the 
correctness of my statements was when he " thrust his 
tongue-tip hard up against the ligaments under its own 
lower surface," yet found he could sing any phrase in 
any language. 

To this I reply: He did not do what he says he 
did, though he may have imagined that he did. If he 
had touched those ligaments or the frsenum with his 
tongue's tip and held it there without allowing it to 
vibrate he could not have uttered a sound; nor could 
he have uttered a sound if he had made either of these 
parts rigid; the latter being the more perfect and posi- 
tive mode of proceeding. 

I could place him in many other positions, even 
with his tongue perfectly free, in which he would not 
be able to utter a sound. I could also place him in 
many other positions in which he would be able to 
utter vowel, but not consonant sounds; and again in 
others in which he could utter consonant but not 
vowel sounds. 

To follow Mr. Russell in all his objections and to 
refute them would be an impossible task. For who 
can argue with a man who meets a serious proposition 
with such a remark as this : " Can Mr. Sutro prove 
the first statement on page 38, viz. : ' The manner in 
which we breathe for speech is by raising and lowering 
the tongue' ? Thousands can prove to the contrary, 
you and I included." 

I first commenced to watch the movements of the 



Appendix 255 

tongue, superficially only in the beginning, to be sure, 
something like forty years ago ; during the last fifteen 
years I have done so with much seriousness and con- 
siderable accuracy in the results ; more especially with- 
in the last five years ; that is, since the discovery of the 
voice of the oesophagus. 

While I had previously made observations and 
knew how to apply them empirically for the produc- 
tion of pure vocal sounds, since that discovery my 
eyes have been opened as to the causes of these effects. 
To say they were marvellous would be using a mild 
term. I was fairly staggered thereby. 

They gave me an insight into the secret workings 
of nature not before possessed by any man. This in- 
sight was not confined to the voice, but extended to 
and embraced many other very important issues. 

How much time has Mr. Russell devoted to the 
observation of the movements of the tongue ? Neither 
he nor any other man ever had the first idea how their 
tongues actually move. Would Mr. Russell have 
waited four years before he had made known those 
revelations? Would he not have cackled loud and 
long over every new laid egg, no matter how puny, 
until all the world had known of it? Would not he 
have applied this knowledge to the furtherance of his 
personal interest in his teaching, etc. Is it reason- 
able for Mr. Russell to expect me to go with him over 
the entire ground of my discoveries in a magazine 
article ? 

I will tell him this, however, he will have to come 
down to some very serious study and think long and 
deep if he wants to know these things of his own 



256 Duality of Thought and Language 

knowledge. Yet he will be compelled to make himself 
the possessor of this knowledge if he wants to keep 
within the race which is about to set in regarding 
the truth in matters of vocal utterance. 

I appeal to the young (whom I am said to corrupt) 
to devote themselves to these studies and to thus be- 
come the precursors in the application of principles 
which are destined to revolutionize the vocal science 
of the world ; the old being often too old to get out of 
lifelong practices, no matter how erroneous. 

If Mr. Russell had not thought his cup of knowl- 
edge already full, but had been intent upon adding 
thereto, it would have been better for him to have 
asked me some questions, in place of " going for me " 
in this blind fury. But neither he nor anyone else, 
Mr. Werner always excepted, those four long years 
these matters have been before the public, has deemed 
it worth his while to ask me one single question. 

If he and others had, and had seriously entered into 
these subjects in the same manner that I did, they 
might have at least made some of the many discoveries 
it has now been my privilege to make single-handed. 

Whatever question anyone may wish to ask me 
now will be answered through my books. It would 
be impossible to answer them in any other way. 

I will not, therefore, enter into any further con- 
troversies through magazine articles, or in any other 
way, as all my spare time will be occupied with the 
further prosecution of this work. 

Emil Sutro. 

Philadelphia, November, 1899. 



Appendix 257 

I beg to add to the above the following: 

Mr. Russell in his " review " also made use of 
these words: 

"You (Mr. Werner) class Mr. Sutro with that 
earnest scientist, Doctor Frank E. Miller, saying: 
' Attention should be paid ' and ' these men must be 
answered. They will not subside; they will keep on 
until they refute or are refuted.' " 

If the reader will kindly turn to the article of 
" Duality of Voice " entitled " Songs, Singers and 
Physiology/' he will on page 210 find my estimate of 
Dr. Miller's accomplishments in connection with the 
voice ; that entire chapter having been inspired by 
Mr. Russell's attack; several entire sentences thereof, 
in fact, having been taken from the preceding " reply." 

The only other review of any length and conse- 
quence, which has appeared in any American musical 
or scientific journal, either in favor of or in opposition 
to my work from 1894 to this date, that I am aware 
of, is the following, and my reply to the same is also 
all I have ever written for publication outside of my 
books. 

This fact that my work has been so completely 
ignored in this country, although I do not think any 
excuse necessary, I am frank to say, may possibly 
have to some extent influenced my views concerning 
Jie American people in matters of this kind, as ex- 
pressed in this book, although it is my earnest desire 
to be ever frank and impartial in my statements. My 
studies up to the time of this writing (spring of 1904) 
have not created the first ripple of a sensation in any 
American university; yet I dare say the time will 



258 Duality of Thought and Language 

come when they will become the " spiritual football 
game " for students in many a fierce debate. 

The following is the criticism and my answer, as 
above referred to. It appeared in the Musical Courier, 
New York City, March 7, 1900: 

"The Duality of Voice,' by Emil Sutro; G. P. 
Putnam's Sons, New York and London. I wish I 
could say something that would please Mr. Sutro, 
after reading his book, but I must be honest in my 
opinion. When a person totally disregards all the 
known laws of science, discussion cannot reach a com- 
mon basis. Mr. Sutro attributes the qualities of the 
voice to the kidneys, the bladder, and the other ab- 
dominal organs. The solar plexus is also, in his 
judgment, an all-controlling factor. The volume as 
a whole conveys no lesson. It is a jargon of terms 
and reasoning, and I wonder how the publishers could 
see their way clear to issue it. The author misuses 
the term ' viscus,' and he states what will be news to 
most anatomists, that a diaphragm and a sphincter 
muscle are synonymous. The attempt to place physi- 
cal facts on a spiritual basis is rarely successful. His 
remarks on the laryngoscope do not reflect favorably 
on his medical knowledge, and his right to discuss the 
subject is in considerable doubt. The volume should 
not be placed in the hands of students." — Musical 
Record, Boston, December, 1899. 



Appendix 259 



THE TRUTH IN MATTERS OF THE VOICE. 

If the writer of the above notice supposes he can 
dispose of me and my work in this high-handed fash- 
ion he is mistaken. According to his own confession, 
he is standing on strict anatomical (physical) ground. 
From this narrow standpoint he presumes to pass 
judgment upon a spiritual issue. That the voice in 
vocal utterance is a spiritual issue, far more so than 
a physical one, no one who has given the matter 
any thought will deny. 

My researches have led me on to the clear recog- 
nition of the fact that what scientists teach regarding 
what, in their estimation, is the " instrument of the 
voice " is valueless as a help to the student of vocal 
utterance. 

My reviewer says " that attempts to place physical 
facts upon a spiritual basis are rarely successful." 

To be sure they are. But I have not attempted to 
do this. On the contrary, I have attempted to place 
spiritual facts upon a physical basis. 

Of the spiritual facts (the properties of the voice) 
all have a fair conception ; of physical (not to speak of 
psychical) causes, thus far no one has a correct idea. 
What physiologists consider to be the "'causes " is 
of a strictly materialistic order, and, even in this sense, 
is but partly and distantly true ; all that has been said 
about the voice thus far being based on the observation 
of materialistic phenomena and upon hypothesis only. 
The attempts at construing the human voice out of 
cords, sinews, muscles, cartilaginous and other matter, 



260 Duality of Thought and Language 

are irrational and futile. No vocal sound has ever 
been made to issue from such things. 

The relation of one form of matter to another form 
of matter (the influence of the expired air upon the 
vocal cords), on which the science of the physiologists 
mainly rests, has no bearing upon spiritual issues. 

Whatever else there is known about the voice, 
apart from this pseudo-science, is based on empiricism 
only, and is as contradictory as personal opinion, with- 
out scientific backing, possibly can be. The best people 
in the profession unhesitatingly admit this. There is 
nothing whatever positively known therefore to base 
the teaching of voice production upon. 

I have reached my conclusions through observa- 
tions of the comparative mode of voice production as 
between English and German speech, a study to which 
I have devoted a great many years. I found that voice 
production is of a different order for every separate 
language, which it necessarily must be in order to pro- 
duce the particular idiomatic expression which distin- 
guishes one language from another. To base the 
teaching of voice production on principles applicable 
to all languages alike, is and necessarily must be false. 
After establishing general principles, the special mode 
for each separate language must be established. I 
have succeeded in doing this far beyond any attempt 
previously made. 

When my reviewer can tell me how his muscles 
move and his cords vibrate for the production of sim- 
ple and vocal sounds, vowels, diphthongs and con- 
sonants, in song, speech and elocution, and for the 
various moods of language, in his own and other 



Appendix 261 

tongues, I shall begin to think that he knows some- 
thing about vocal utterance; provided, however, that 
he can produce these movements at will for each and 
every separate purpose. As he does not comprehend 
these movements, nor can produce them at will, what 
does his knowledge, whatever that may be, stand for 
in connection with vocal utterance ? Though a science, 
possibly, in the abstract, it is valueless in its applica- 
tion. 

This reviewer of mine, though perhaps a specialist 
in anatomy, evidently has no conception of the nature 
of the voice. Why such a person should have been 
selected by a musical journal to write on so foreign a 
subject to him as the voice, is one of the mysteries we 
sometimes meet with in connection with this very 
mysterious subject. This person, moreover, is so 
content with his own position in matters of this kind 
(a sure sign of ignorance) that he presumes to speak 
patronizingly of me. He furthermore has the assur- 
ance of giving gratuitous advice to my publishers. 
I wish I could say something favorable of this " re- 
viewer " of mine, but honestly I cannot. The manner 
in which he has treated the most valuable contribution 
to vocal science ever made proves him incapable of 
comprehending the true character of vocal utterance; 
a performance which is the outcome of influences be- 
yond the scope of his sphere and the school to which 
he belongs. 

This, of course, is not a mere " personal " contest. 
I would not waste my time on it if it were. When 
the knowledge I have gathered becomes the property 
of others to the same extent that it is now mine, it 



262 Duality of Thought and Language 

will be possible to teach voice-production in conform- 
ity with laws recognized as true the world over. 

I cannot here enter further into details. My pub- 
lications must speak for themselves. After my critics 
have read and studied them, and made the experiments 
which I offer in such abundance, they will have the 
right to judge. 

When they merely hunt through their pages, how- 
ever, for flaws in anatomical statements, as this re- 
viewer has done (right or wrong, it is not worth while 
disputing with him), they are welcome to every omis- 
sion of a dot of an i they can find, but that will not 
in the least affect my position. While looking for a 
mole-hill they fail to see the mountain; or, in other 
words, they fail to comprehend the meaning and the 
mission of my work and the great lesson it conveys. 
This mission and lesson consist in restoring to the 
world (through the science of the voice) that spiritual- 
ity which the materialistic school of investigation has 
banished from it; not merely as a force we feel and 
know of in a vague and distant manner, but a force 
scientifically proven to be the greatest living factor 
ruling the universe. 

These things have come into the world to stay. 
Vocal teachers, psychologists, and others, will be 
obliged to study them sooner or later ; better soon than 
later. 

It has been said that my statements, if accepted, 
will upset " everything," being contrary to recognized 
physical laws. But how about psychical laws? Who 
will set himself up as a judge? We are drifting to- 
wards a greater age than the world has yet seen — the 



Appendix 163 

age of " spiritually " seeing, " spiritually " knowing. 
Other things have come to pass which were also sup- 
posed to be contrary to every known law ; the tele- 
phone, the phonograph, the Rontgen rays, the Mar- 
coni messages. They are ghostly things ; physio-psy- 
chical portents of greater things to come. 

Through higher physical developments of the laws 
of nature we are drifting towards higher psychical 
ones. It will be the marvel of future generations that 
what is now passed off as the " science of the voice " 
should have ever been taken seriously during any 
period of the world's history. 

When Stephenson first applied for the privilege of 
running his railroad it was objected to on account of 
" danger to the cows." He replied, " So much the 
worse for the coo." The cows have since learned to 
keep off the track of his railroad, which is running 
in all parts of the globe. So, I apprehend, will this 
railroad before many years; and it will be well 
for Philistines (like my reviewer) to keep off its 
track. 

I have in this instance broken my resolution not to 
answer criticisms. I could not answer them if I 
would, my time being really too valuable. I have 
taken this opportunity, however, to once for all state 
my position as briefly as I could. 

The world has been waiting, I might say praying, 
for just such revelations as are contained in " Duality 
of Voice " — more especially the world of singers. Yet 
my reviewer says " the volume should not be placed in 
the hands of students." Have students any basis 
whatever now upon which they can stand; and are 



264 Duality of Thought and Language 

they going to obey his mandate, or will they reserve 
to themselves the right to judge for themselves? 

He says I attribute the qualities of the voice to the 
kidneys, the bladder, and other abdominal organs. 
This is a perversion of facts by omission, having said 
that all vessels contribute towards tone production, 
these, of course, included. I have proven this to be 
true, and shall continue to heap proof upon proof, in 
future publications, till no one will be able to gainsay 
it to be a fact. 

Of other fields of research, besides the voice, into 
which my investigations have led me, I will not here 
speak. If time had permitted I would have treated 
upon these various issues separately; unfortunately 
this has not been the case. All these subjects, how- 
ever, are closely related, and dovetail into each other. 
They may not all relate directly to the voice, but they 
all relate to it indirectly. 

My researches have led me away from and beyond 
the present materialistic mode of investigation, and 
have resulted in physio-psychical discoveries of 
the greatest importance. I was unwittingly led into 
the knowledge of secrets nature had withheld from us 
to this day. Through these discoveries I was able to 
recognize the fact that the voice is of dual nature ; that 
it is a correlative emation from material and psy- 
chical factors, physically represented by trachea and 
oesophagus. 

I have reduced these studies to a science, which, 
when fully developed (part only having been pub- 
lished so far), while placing the entire subject of the 
voice upon a higher plane, will at the same time place 



Appendix 265 

it upon a comprehensible, reasonable, and practical 
basis. 

It must not be expected, however, that matters 
which are so involved and have been hidden from us 
all these years should be at once and perfectly under- 
stood. It will take years of patient study to get to 
the bottom of them. The reward, however, will be 
great. 

I want my book to be read and studied; and I want 
to be helped by those capable of helping, in the further 
development of these important issues. 

The subject-matter of " Duality of Voice " is now 
being investigated by teachers of both sexes in the 
foremost rank of the vocal profession. Many of my 
statements have already been verified by them. I 
rely on vocalists more than on physiologists to assist 
in this work. The latter only go as far as they can 
see; the education and thought of the former, on the 
other hand, are directed towards the feeling, the sen- 
sation, the spiritual expression. Their world is that 
of keenly, vividly hearing; they are in direct touch 
with the soul. 

When these matters are well understood the teach- 
ing of singing, elocution, etc., will become a pleasure 
to both teachers and scholars ; the mists now hanging 
so thickly over defects of speech, stuttering, etc., will 
be dispelled ; the deaf will be taught to speak soulfully, 
and not like mechanical toys; and the way will be 
smoothed for the better comprehension of many other 
things which have racked the brain of man since time 
immemorial. 

Emil Sutro. 



0.66 Duality of Thought and Language 

I now want to offer further proof as to the present 
deplorable state of vocal science by one of its principal 
exponents, Mr. Edgar S. Werner, who, in " Werner's 
Magazine " of January I, 1900, the number which be- 
gan a new century, and is therefore doubly significant, 
published the following: 



AS TO ELOCUTIONARY TRUTHS AND ESSENTIALS. 

Nothing would be more welcome to the editorial 
heart than a department of ' truths ' — a department 
that should contain nothing that was not actually so, 
positively proven, capable of scientific demonstration. 
Perhaps no department of scientific inquiry needs 
such a sifting more than does vocal and elocutionary 
science. Perhaps, also, in no other professions are 
there more charlatans or is there more humbuggery, 
or more superficiality. Now, if there could only be a 
department in this magazine where nothing but the 
refined gold of truth and safe counsel appeared, what 
a blessing it would be to our readers! Sometimes 
we are thrilled with such an impulse, and we begin to 
jot down what we believe to be worthy of admission 
into such a department. Alas! as others have found 
before us, we soon dash against rocks, and our ship 
of confidence and enthusiasm is left stranded on the 
beach of ignorance and helplessness. Of course such 
a confession by a would-be guide may lack worldly 
wisdom, but this is a season of the year when most 
people are in a penitent and confessional mood, and 
feel inclined to reform and make promises for the 
new year. 



Appendix . 267 

We wish that we could admit into our columns 
only that which is accepted by competent authorities, 
and that which can be proved to be true and good. 
So much that is questionable is offered as ' science ' 
that the young student is puzzled or is misled many 
times to his injury. We wish that we could offer only 
actual truths to enable him to square his vocal and 
elocutionary science and to get into paths that would 
not lead him astray. 



Some of the things that seem to us to be worthy 
of acceptance as vocal and elocutionary truths are 
these : 

The maximum effort in artistic respiration should 
be at the diaphragm. 

The minimum effort in voice production should be 
at the vocal cords. 

The maximum effort in articulation should be at 
the tip of the tongue and at the lips. 

The lungs are composed of elastic substance, and 
are encased in an elastic framework. 

The lungs cannot be emptied of air entirely. There 
must be always some air in the lungs. This air is 
called the residual air, and is said to be in amount 
from 75 to 100 cubic inches. 

Vital breathing, i.e., respiration for life purposes, 
is involuntary. It goes on during sleep and during 
other times when we are unconscious of the process. 
Artistic breathing, i.e., respiration for song or for 
speech, is largely voluntary. We are conscious of the 
use of breath, and we put forth efforts to regulate it. 



268 Duality of Thought and Language 

In discussing vocal topics a distinction should be 
drawn between vital respiration and artistic respira- 
tion. 

The organs that produce voice are used also for 
other purposes — respiration, deglutition, etc. 

The mechanism of speech and of song cannot be 
seen. ' Visible speech ' is a term that cannot be ac- 
cepted literally, but only in a metaphorical sense. 
* * * * * * * 

The foregoing ' truths ' are mere fragments. We 
give them on the theory that a few slices are better 
than no bread at all." 

This confession, it will be admitted, reveals a de- 
plorable state of affairs. Its want of, could not be 
more forcibly illustrated than by its claims to, knowl- 
edge. 

Of these claims or truths, those first enumerated 
cannot be admitted as quite correct. On the contrary, 
in artistic respiration for voice production there should 
be no " effort " in any one single direction ; such an 
effort would be resultless, the first law in voice pro- 
duction being correlation, interaction, correspondence, 
distribution always. 

That which follows regarding the " lungs," is in- 
formation taken from the text-books, and is not di- 
rectly related to vocal utterance. 

The rest of the "truths" have been appropriated 
from my publications. 

Those who have read my books will not hesitate 
in agreeing with me on this point. Mr. Werner had 
known of these matters for some time before thus 



Appendix 269 

making use of them. This fact seems to have weighed 
on his conscience. Some day, possibly, when in an- 
other " penitent and confessional mood," he may also 
name their author. 

To explain the reason why Mr. Werner's name has 
so frequently appeared in this book, as well as in the 
" Basic Law of Vocal Utterance," it is necessary in 
the first instance to state what he himself has often 
mentioned in his journal, namely, that he is a stutterer. 
Not having been able to find a relief for his affliction, 
either in this country or in Europe, he started a jour- 
nal having the scientific investigation of the voice for 
its main object, with a view and in expectation of thus 
coming across means which would come to his relief. 

This journal for the past twenty-five years has 
been the main exponent of investigations into the 
matters of the voice, and Mr. Werner has been its 
standard-bearer. 

It is said that there is, or rather has been, no other 
journal in the world of a similar character. I say 
" has been," for, as a matter of fact, " Werner's Maga- 
zine " ceased to exist as a journal devoted to the scien- 
tific aspect of the voice about a year after the appear- 
ance of " Duality of Voice," that publication, as ad- 
mitted by Mr. Werner, having given the death-blow 
to all that had theretofore " masqueraded " as science 
of this nature. Yet Mr. W. has not yet seen his way 
clear to open his magazine to the new and true science. 

I will also add here, as it is pertinent to the matter, 
that the last time I saw Mr. W. I noticed that his 
speech had become far more fluent than before, and 
he was free to admit that he owed this fact to my 



270 Duality of Thought and Language 

expositions, which had already assisted in freeing the 
channels of the voice in his case. 

When I first spoke to Mr. Werner about my dis- 
coveries in the winter of 1893-94 he at once seized 
upon them with eager interest and encouraged me to 
write them out. When this was accomplished he pub- 
lished my book under the title of " The Basic Law of 
Vocal Utterance." 

In a contract dated the tenth day of September, 
1894, occur these words : " Whereas the said Emil 
Sutro has written a book, the title of which is ' The 
Basic Law of Vocal Utterance/ and whereas the said 
Edgar S. Werner is desirous of obtaining the sole 
and exclusive right, license and privilege of publishing 
and selling within and throughout the United States 
said book, when printed in the English language, said 
Emil Sutro expressly reserving to himself all the 
rights of translation and of publication and sale in 
any and all foreign countries, now, therefore, etc., 
etc." 

That was ten years ago. Yet it was but a be- 
ginning, a preliminary treatise on what since has 
grown to be a science. Our hopes and expectations 
were great then, but we had not reckoned with the 
petty spirit, the malignity, ignorance, and selfishness 
of those directly interested in the subject. 

While my efforts have found no recognition in the 
musical journals of this country, music teachers in 
many instances have appropriated them to their special 
benefit. They are basing new " methods " upon them, 
which they pass off as inspirations and discoveries of 
their own. These sometimes vie in their want of in- 



Appendix 271 

telligence with some of the worst specimens of the 
realistic school. 

" Music Life " of May, 1901, contained the follow- 
ing: "Breathing for artistic singing must be auto- 
matic; that is, it must work unconsciously; while 
singing it may work in many ways, and the spirit 
which prompts a certain way of taking and managing 
the breath, even though it be different from the one 
usually practised, is probably the right one for the 
moment and purpose. But breathing practice is to 
prepare the organs, so that the spirit may take the 
right breath." 

Yet my friend, Mr. Frank Herbert Tubbs, had 
previously expressed himself as follows : " It seems 
as if he (Mr. Sutro) has gone into the true science of 
Being. He possesses through his discoveries things 
which, when worked out, will unquestionably revolu- 
tionize the study of language, the study of voice cul- 
ture and singing, and even of metaphysics, etc. ,, 

In place of further assisting me in my efforts by 
public discussion in his journal, this gentleman, the 
only one who had dared to publicly allude to my work 
at all, soon after concluded it would " pay " him better 
to publish " Music Lessons " based on " new theories 
of his own," and the passage above quoted is from one 
of these. The same gentleman previous to the pub- 
lication of " Duality of Voice " had an anatomical 
model of the larynx standing on his piano, from 
which he demonstrated to his scholars the production 
of the voice. 

How can there ever be any progress while the 
" profession " acts in this selfish manner? 



272 Duality of Thought and Language 

If my studies possess a value of a new order, and 
of a superior order to those pursued in this field here- 
tofore, and this fact is recognized, as it already has 
been by so many, would it not be best for those who 
guide public opinion and instruction, the editors of 
and writers for musical journals, to whom these 
studies more directly appeal, to cease reading by the 
rush-light of the dark ages in this the age of electric- 
ity, and take a little interest in them, see what merit 
they possess, invite discussion, and thus evoke addi- 
tional light on the subject? A rational mode of in- 
struction may then be arrived at with results of a far 
different order from those attained heretofore. 

I have seen it stated that two hundred years after 
Copernicus' death, and long after the world generally 
had accepted his theories, debates pro and con regard- 
ing them were still carried on in a New York college. 
I do not propose to let these matters rest two hundred 
years for the people of the twenty-second century to 
debate them, if I can possibly bring about discussion 
now. The next question is : " Will singers and stu- 
dents of the voice read this book, and will the press 
comment upon it any more than it did upon my pre- 
vious publications ?" Mr. Herbert Spencer once said : 
" People will sooner take a dose of castor oil than read 
a chapter of my treatises." And I say the average 
singer prefers singing his throat sore all his life to 
going to the trouble of finding out from these studies 
what this soreness is produced by. They go on year 
after year singing " against the grain," ruining their 
voices, because they have not the sense of attempting 
to gain an insight into the true character of vocal ut- 



Appendix 273 

terance. I know a teacher who had a volume of 
" Duality of Voice " in her possession for four years, 
but never found the time for reading it, which was 
all taken up by what she called " study." 

Singers in their imagination are soaring above the 
earth, while as a matter of fact they are fluttering in 
problematic regions of neither earth nor sky, or reason 
or sense of any kind. They have given me proof of 
this fact over and over again. Of course there are 
exceptions, luminous sources from whom I have had 
much encouragement ; but they were mostly Germans. 
Americans with whom I conferred, as a rule, asked 
me to demonstrate to them " physically " the truth 
of my statements. Germans were satisfied to know 
about the inner motive power and the thought under- 
lying it all. 

The latest exploitation in this line is a book by 
Lilly Lehman, published in Germany about the same 
time as mine was published there, beautifully illus- 
trated with all the exploded heresies of the past. But 
the author is a famous actress and singer, and the 
book sells, which speaks volumes for that nonentity 
" public opinion." 

Yesterday, April 9th, 1904, I attended a " lecture 
recital " at the New Lyceum Theatre before a brilliant 
audience on the " Singing and Speaking Voices." 

The lecturer proved his entire ignorance of the 
subjects of voice production and breathing by treat- 
ing them from the old, narrow, threadbare, physical 
standpoint, with not a trace of the spiritual influ- 
ence. His discourse was made palatable by the in- 
terspersion of anecdotes; but as for any profit to be 



274 Duality of Thought and Language 

derived therefrom it was absolutely depressing and 
empty. 

He was assisted, however, by a gifted singer and 
elocutionist. 

I spoke to these gentlemen after the performance 
and found that the gifted singer and elocutionist was 
familiar with my name, but nothing beyond that; the 
lecturer had never heard of either my work or my 
name. What a momentous lecture he might have 
delivered on his subjects if he had but known! 

In conclusion I want to remark that most of this 
chapter was written much against my will and in- 
clination, and with the loss of much precious time. 
But I felt that it had to be written as an expose of 
the entire worthlessness of present beliefs in matters 
of this kind. 




INDEX 



Abdomen, 46, 92, 132, 137, 150, 
151, 153, 167, 176, 177, 192, 
200, 209 

Accent, 32, 152 

"Ah" sound, 217 

Amiel, 68 

Anarchism, 181 

Anaximander, 68 

Anode of vocal sounds, 146, 
150 

Army-worship, 190 

Astral body, 159 

Attack in singing, 104 

Austrian question, 127 



Balaam, 232 

"Basic Law of Vocal Utter- 
ance, The," 36, 37, 126, 
135, 241, 246, 248, 249, 253, 
269 
Bell, Alexander Melville, 86 

Graham, 46 
Bible, 180 
Brain, 198, 203 
Breathing, 190 
different with each language, 

124 
exercises, 104 
of animals, 103 
origin of deep, 155 
vital contra spiritual, 28, 102 
Buddha, 63 
Buzzing "b," 212 



Carlyle, 41 

Cathode of vocal sounds, 146, 

^o 
Centrifugal power in language, 

166, 193 

Centripetal power in language, 

167, 193 
Christ, 230 

Christian standpoint, 128 
Church, 47, 63, 181 
Circulatory system, 229 
Clearing the voice, 217 
Columbus, 47 
Complexity, 151, 216 

of the voice, 11 
Composite words, 169 
Concentric motion, 193 
Consonants as elements of 

speech, 10 
Constancy of nature, 49, 54, 

144 
Copernicus, 48 
Cultivation of voice, 28 

Darwin, 50, 129, 130 
Diaphragm, 45, 95, 105, 138, 

169 
Difference between song and 
speech, 10, 21 
of vowel sounds in different 
languages, 16, 17 
Dual nature, 77 

of living things, 146, 148 
Dualism, 46, 76 
realistic, 68 



275 



276 



Index 



Duality of foundation of vocal 
utterance, 37 
of human nature, 48, 129 
"Duality of Voice," 3, 7, 40, 

72, 73, 83, 146, 172, 225, 
234, 238, 239, 246, 249, 257, 
258, 263, 265, 273 

Eccentric motion, 193 
Empedocles, 68 
Emphasis, 32, 152 
Ether, 54 
Evolution, 48 

Fetishism, 13 
Fleischer, Oscar, 72 
Forcing the voice, 208 
Foreign languages, 18 

German element in America, 
177 

music, 178 
God, 50, 5i, 61, 143, 204 

personal, 62 
God-man, 61 
Goethe (quotations), 42, 67, 

73, 112, 113 

Haeckel, 51, 65, 67, 68, 135 
Hebrew mind, 180 
Hemisphere, 20, 46, 152, 176 

Ideal, difference in German 

and American, 188 
Idiomatic expression, 2, 6, 17, 

21, 27, 55, 92, 103, 163 
impression, 149 
Imitation of speech-sounds, 6, 

17 
Inner side of senses, 5 
Instinct in singing, 6 
Instrument of the voice, 12, 30 
Intonation, 17, 25, 27, 31, 32, 

84, 86, no, 137, 152, 153 
difference in English and 

German, 164 
new signs for, 26 
Irish question, 127 



Jesus, 63 

Jewish question, 127 
Jews, 127 

"Journal of the International 
Musical Association," 72 

Kant, 90, 139 
Keller, Helen, 89 
Kirk's "Handbook of Physiol- 
ogy," 41 

Language of the after-life, 84 

Larynx, 7, 227, 233 

Lehmann, Lilly, 20 

Le Verrier, 223 

Liver, 154 

Lunn, Charles, 66, 212, 214, 

219, 240, 243, 244 
Lymphatic system, 199, 229 

Man as animal, 158 
Marconi, 263 
Materialistic school, 40 
Memory, 114, 139 
Metaphysics, material, 67 
Miller, Frank E., 257 
Miracle, 49, 62 
Monism, 46, 51, 68, 76, 135 

spiritualistic, 145 
Mueller, Max, 147 
"Music," 244 
"Music Life," 271 
"Musical Courier," 258 
"Musical Opinion," 239 
Mythology, Jewish and Chris- 
tian, 52, 56 

Nature in relation to voice ut- 
terance, 14, 24 
Noumena, 8, 81, 204, 216 

GEsophagus, 15, 30, 69, 95, 101, 

109, 133, 158, 172 
Oral cavity, 101, 133, I53» l6 7, 

227 
Origin of words, 28, 155 



Index 



277 



Pancreas, 155 

Paternal government, 191 

Pelvis, 151, 153, 167 

Perinseum, 138, 150, 201 

Pharynx, 101 

Phenomena, 8, 41, 44, 81, 204, 

216 
Phonetic sound, 215 
Pressure, 201 
Pronunciation, 85, 86, 93 
Protective tariff, 195 

Qualities as the real thing, 140 

Reality, 134 

Relation between Germans and 

Anglo-Saxons, 163 
Religion, 61, 181 

new, 39 

of nature, 52 
Rhythm, 23, 32 
Rigidity, 107, 154, 201 
Rontgen rays, 263 
Roots of words, 147 
Russell, L. A., 246 

Sabbath, 180 

Scales, singing of, 16, 22, 24, 

30 
Schiller, 53 
Schneider, 73 

Simple sounds, 3, 97, 98, 215 
Singing teachers and their 

task, 24 
Socialism in America, 181 
Socrates, 252 
Spencer, Herbert, 272 
Spiritual anatomy, 230 
Stephenson, 263 
Stroke of the glottis, 217, 218 
Subconsciousness, 4, 27, 81, 84, 

87, 90, in 
Superstition, 128 
Sympathetic nervous system, 

229 



Thinking, of the sound, 16, 24 

of the word, 172 
Thorax, 46, 92, 94, 95, 107, 137, 
150, 153, 155, 167, 176, 192, 
200, 209 
Throaty voice, 3 
Titles, 185 

Tongue, 34, 49, 65, 98, 136 
body of the, 97 
movements of the, 54, 106 
tip of the, 95, 97 
Trachea, 15, 36, 95, 101, 109. 

133, 158, 172 
Tubbs, F. H., 271 

Unreal, 134 

Utterance, jambic and tro- 
chaic, 137 

Visible speech, 86 
Vital force, 42 

Vocal cords, 9, 10, 12, 34, 228 
sounds, 12, 22, 35, 117, 200, 

211, 215 
utterance, 5, 6, 8, 9, 16, 18, 
19, 30, 33, 38, 70, 103, 106, 
156, 199, 231 
utterance in song contra 
speech, 173 
Vocalizes, 18 
Voice eo ipso, 11 
Voice of the oesophagus, 1, 3, 

15, 75, 76 
Voodooism, 13 
Vowel sound, the "new," 220 

sounds, 29 
Vowels as speech element, 10 

"Weltraethsel," von Haeckel, 

5i. 67 
Weltschmerz, 190 
Werner, Mr., 241, 246, 248, 

253, 257, 266 
"Werner's Magazine," 240, 

242, 246, 248, 266, 269 



For the purpose of assisting the furtherance, 
continuation, and additional investigation of the 
questions started by Mr. Sutro's work, a society has 
been formed in New York and Berlin, Germany, 
whose aims are stated in the following prospectus : 

Gbe International 

|pb£8ioHp8£cbtc Society 

bas tbe following aims : 

FIR8T: 

The scientific study of the spiritual nature 
of man in his NORMAL condition, in contra- 
distinction to the objects of other societies, 
whose aim is to make a study of man's nature 
when in an ABNORMAL or SUPERNOR- 
MAL state. 

SECOND: 

The placing on a sound footing of the prin- 
ciples mediating between materialistic science 
and religion. 

Traditional revelation in matters of religious belief 
being daily more discredited through revelations in 
science : to save mankind from the pernicious influ- 
ence of materialism, a new order of things must be 
inaugurated through a counter movement establishing 
SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES proving the existence 
of spirituality as the first cause ruling the universe, 
and its supremacy over matter in the living man. 



THIRD 



The placing of psychical facts upon a physi- 
cal basis, which is the reverse of what physi- 
ology is now so vainly attempting to do. 

The meaning of psychical representations, as of 
beauty, justice, truth, etc., as embodied in the words 
of language, is well understood by mankind generally, 
and so is the meaning of every other idea represented 
by the SPOKEN word, while of correlative PHYSI- 
CAL factors productive thereof we have absolutely 
no positive knowledge. While the brain is generally 
credited with their production, to the vocal cords of 
the larynx is ascribed the production of vocal utter- 
ance, which, however, is also a preponderately psychi- 
cal process. Hence, correlative physical factors, 
which are diffused through and embraced by our 
entire system, must be established through their 
association with, and relation to, KNOWN psychical 
FACTORS, and not the reverse. 

We do not possess even an adequate idea of the 
extent of physical factors, which act in conjunction 
with correlative mental factors in the production of 
our FACULTIES, though of the anatomical con- 
struction of the END organs of our senses we have 
a fair conception. 



FOURTH 



The recognition of the true principles under- 
lying VOCAL UTTERANCE, and the 
teaching of all its branches, in a rational and 
comprehensible manner. 

As the principles herein enumerated have been 
arrived at through a prolonged and careful study 
into the inner being of L language, so they are 



exponents and explanations of vocal utterance in all 
its various forms. This exposition has hitherto been 
wanting, hence the chaos which has prevailed. 

For the first time in the world's history, metaphysics 
have been PRACTICALLY APPLIED. True 
underlying principles have come to light and are 
furnishing safe guides to knowledge. Thus the 
road to rational teaching has been opened. Voices 
will cease to be ruined, healths to be broken, and 
fortunes to be wasted, through the pernicious influ- 
ence of present false and futile principles, supposed 
to be underlying vocal utterance. 

Other truths have been ascertained, which, in their 
application, will have a vastly beneficial influence 
upon HEALTH in the PREVENTION of disease. 



FIFTH 



The publication and dissemination of pam- 
phlets, books, magazines, and other literature 
exemplifying and maintaining the truth of the 
eternal spiritual principles inherent in man. 



SIXTH: 



The delivering of lectures — the promoting 
of debates and the holding of congresses — the 
formation of sub or branch societies. 



SEVENTH: 



The founding of a library, or a collection of 
works, on Physiology and Psychology, leading 
up to a correct knowledge of Physio-Psychic 



principles and laws, as the true basis of our 
existence. 

There is a great and increasing yearning in the 
world to-day after rational, spiritual truth. In the 
great contention going on between science on the 
one hand, and religion on the other, their real and 
proper exponent — which must be sought in the true 
essence of man — has been entirely lost sight of. 
Science, for the most part, deals with matter; religion, 
with the spirit. Their conjunction represents life — 
man's life. As a matter of fact, neither can exist 
without the other. If we were able to ascertain what 
a human being is — how matter and mind act and 
react upon one another — we should then possess a 
true knowledge of the Science of Being, and, in so 
doing, arrive not only at the true essence of science 
but also of religion. 

Thus a new reign would be inaugurated in the 
conciliation and unification of two principles, now 
apparently almost hopelessly divided IN OPPOSITE 
directions. 



Membership in the society is open to men and 
women interested in Physiology, Psychology, 
Philosophy, Religion, etc. 

Offices of the Society 

Suite 311, 1204 Broadway, New York 

A. W. Holbrook, Secretary 

Hauptstr. 87, Schoeneberg, Berlin, Germany 
F. H. Schneider, Secretary 



SOME AMERICAN AND ENGLISH PRESS 
OPINIONS ON "DUALITY OF VOICE" 
ALSO SOME EXTRACTS FROM LETTERS. 

Scientists and students and teachers of the voice, 
will find subject for thought and discussion in Emil 
Sutro's " Duality of Voice." The preliminary exposi- 
tion of his theories was made in an earlier book : " The 
Basic Law of Vocal Utterance." In this volume the 
author's views are propounded at length with the force 
of a man who is absolutely convinced of his position. 
Mr. Sutro shows great earnestness and keen observa- 
tion, and there is much in his book both interesting 
and suggestive. — Literary World, Boston. 

This is Mr. Sutro's second book on his discovery 
that the voice is of dual nature, and that it has a psy- 
chical, as well as a physiological, side. His theory, 
which is entirely novel, has hitherto failed to attract 
the attention of singers, teachers, anatomists, physiolo- 
gists, and psychologists; but he is undismayed, and 
still holds that his discovery is the most comprehensive 
and far-reaching of any that has ever been made. — 
Mail and Express, New York City. 

Mr. Sutro's views are very original, and worth 
studying. — Era, London, England. 

Mr. Sutro regards the human voice as the outcome 
of a series of both physical and spiritual issues. Out 



Duality of Voice 

of this position grow a number of very novel theories 
which are directly opposed to what has hitherto been 
regarded as the established truth of science on the mat- 
ter. But, though he is thus opposed to all the world, 
Mr. Sutro grows in assurance just in proportion to the 
number and competence of his opponents. — Observer, 
Bradford, Yorkshire, England. 

Very interesting, indeed, is Emil Sutro's " Duality 
of Voice : An Outline of Original Research." I com- 
mend it to the attention of those interested in a subject 
fruitful of much discussion. — Gentlewoman, London, 
England. 

It is a sort of vocal theology, as it were, with chap- 
ters on the influence of the body on language. — Chris- 
tian Register, Boston. 

Mr. Sutro's opinions as to the nature of the voice 
are in radical opposition to generally accepted opin- 
ions. The voice,, he says, is due to the union of two 
elements, one of which is positive, the other negative. 
Space is lacking to consider even a tithe of the deduc- 
tions drawn by the author in his exhaustive study of 
the subject. Startling as his position is, he is thor- 
oughly convinced of its soundness, and is justified in 
claiming that it should not be condemned without pos- 
itive proof of its falsity. — Etude, Philadelphia. 

" Duality of Voice " is a scientific treatise on the 
culture of the voice in singing and speaking. The 
author discards the prevalent materialistic theory that 
the voice is merely a physically vibrated air current. 
As against the physiologists, who claim that the voice 



Press Opinions 

is evolved from matter without a trace of spirit, the 
book asserts that teachers, as a class, are with him. 
They feel, he says, that the efforts of the physiologists 
to aid them in their vocation are wrong and mislead- 
ing. They know that song comes from the heart and 
the soul, while it uses the body for its instrument. 
That quotation is the key to the book. — The Public, 
Chicago. 

The latest basis of philosophy is breathing, which 
has been developed by Mr. Emil Sutro in a book called 
the " Duality of Voice : An Outline of Original Re- 
search.''. The chapters of Mr. Sutro contain many 
excellent remarks on voice-culture and on the teach- 
ing of the correct pronunciation of foreign languages. 
It will find many readers. — The Open Court, Chicago. 

Whatever may be said of the theories here offered, 
there can be no escaping the charm of the author's 
clear, concise and unhindered statement of them. Mr. 
Sutro offers a large amount of valuable suggestion 
connected with the physical production and philosophy 
of the human voice. — Independent, New York City. 

This unique and interesting volume marks the be- 
ginning of a new era in voice-culture, in which will be 
found scientific explanations of the formation of 
speech sounds. Mr. Sutro reasons with precision, and 
his conclusions are drawn from self-evident facts. His 
discovery of the counterpart of the larynx in the rep- 
lica is an important one. Like all other really great 
discoveries, it appears to have been in the beginning, 
the result of chance. The exposition of his theories is 
marked by mathematical exactness. " Duality of 



Duality of Voice 

Voice " is, on the whole, a book that will prove a benefit 
and a help to all who read it. — Tribune, Minneapolis. 

The author sets forth his novel theories with nu- 
merous illustrations, and a seriousness and enthusiasm 
which command attention. — Times, Brooklyn. 

A book for students of vocal culture is " Duality of 
Voice." It is unusually sprightly and vivacious for a 
discussion of such a theme. The writing is fresh and 
suggestive, and its positions appear to be worth the 
close attention of all students of the subject. — Congre- 
gationalist, Boston. 

A most valuable treatise for singers and speakers 
who would make the most of their gifts. — Observer, 
New York City. 

An interesting essay on an interesting subject by 
one who has made a careful study of voice production. 
— Observer, London, Eng. 

We do not often take up a work so full of new theo- 
ries as Emil Sutro's " Duality of Voice." Of course 
it does not follow that because a theory is new, that it 
is valuable, but Mr. Sutro offers the world a radically 
fresh view of the nature and conditions of vocal utter- 
ance, which seems well worthy the attention of experts 
in this field of study. Various other topics, treated in 
the work, especially its theory of the origin of race dis- 
tinctions, deserve consideration. — Era, Philadelphia. 

The book is not one to be trampled upon in contro- 
versy, the earnestness of the man who wrote it forbids 
that ; there is nothing self-vaunting in it. He does not 
say, " Stand by, I am wiser than thou." He believes 



Press Opinions 

in himself as one chosen to reveal ; yet almost fearing 
lest he should " have wrung facts from nature that may 
have never been intended to be revealed." Again there 
is something pathetic in his appeal, " lest it be too late." 
Every discoverer, every investigator, every enthusiast 
who has grown old in the service of science will under- 
stand it, feelingly, and with sympathy. 

The author considers that his " discovery will take 
rank in the annals of the history of the human race as 
second to no other discovery that has influenced and 
shaped human thought in the proper recognition of 
the origin and nature of man." — Musical Opinion, 
London, England. 

This work is a reaction against the gross material- 
ism which characterises the works that of late years 
have appeared on the subject of the voice. Mr. Sutro 
rightly places the spiritual side first, writing of others : 
" They are all grappling with matter, while I have 
grasped the spirit that is with, yet above all living mat- 
ter." Again, " The body is the habitation of the soul. 
The soul dwells in its every part." How far the read- 
ers can accept his views is for each reader to decide. — 
Charles Lunn, in Music, London, England. 

Mr. Sutro naturally considers his discoveries 
among the most remarkable ever made by man and he 
foresees wonderful developments. It is impossible to 
consider here the numerous and complex questions 
raised by the book. We must be content to indicate its 
principal contention. The author's earnestness and be- 
lief are unmistakable. — The Musical Times, London, 
England. 



Duality of Voice 

The book is one which distinctly calls for criticism. 
It offers, according to the author, " the first ray of 
light that has ever penetrated the gloom and darkness 
surrounding the mystery of the voice," and if so it is 
then a Roentgen ray that will not soon fade. We 
acknowledge the interest of the book, the contents of 
which will no doubt engage the attention of specialists 
in matters physiological and psychological. — The 
Monthly Musical Record, London, England. 

This is the second book of a series which, if Mr. 
Sutro lives, will include several volumes. The first, 
" The Basic Law of Vocal Utterance," was published 
in 1894, and the author has nearly completed a third. 
Mr. Sutro has, in a search for the causes of the differ- 
ence in languages, come upon what he believes to be 
the laws governing all expression. It seems as though 
he had gone into the true Science of Being. He 
possesses through these discoveries, things which, 
when worked out, will unquestionably revolutionize 
the study of language, voice culture, and singing, and 
even of metaphysics. Something of these hidden 
things are given us in the volume under review. Mr. 
Sutro says our bodies and souls join hands to produce 
the miracle of the voice; the soul dwells in its (body) 
every part; all vocal expression is but an echo, the 
echo of a thought. So far can we join him. There 
are many beautiful deductions from these premises; 
but there are others which we think wrong. 

Throughout the book there are statements which 
startle and stimulate thought. They give evidence that 
a mighty truth is being discussed. So frequent are 
these statements and so radical are they, that I most 



Press Opinions 

heartily advise teachers who are ready to think and 
puzzle to obtain " Duality of Voice " and study it thor- 
oughly. It is not to be entered upon lightly, nor to be 
understood at one reading. The first impression which 
most teachers will have, is that the book is absurd. It 
is certainly different from any other work on voice. 
Study will show that its premises are not absurd. 
These are worth serious consideration. Even in the 
things with which you and I cannot agree we shall 
find matters to challenge our attention and respect. — 
Frank Herbert Tubbs, in Music Life, New York City. 

" ' How long, oh, how long/ cries Mr. Sutro, ' will 
vocal teachers persist in clinging to error, masquerad- 
ing as vocal science, chaperoned by tradition, even 
by the respectable and venerable traditions of " the old 
Italian school ?"' 

" Mr. Sutro's researches and experiments confirm 
the theory that breathing for life purposes is a function 
entirely distinct from breathing for art purposes. The 
problem, then, would seem to be to employ that method 
of voice use that least interferes with vital respiration. 

" If this theory of vocal air use be correct, and a 
vocal method be based upon it, many of the problems 
that have so long baffled the vocal profession will be 
solved. Vocal instruction will lose many of its delays 
and dangers, and an epoch of increased artistic voice 
users will be inaugurated. If such a condition shall be 
effected, much credit will be due Mr. Emil Sutro for 
having so long, so patiently, and so courageously 
fought the battle for vocal enlightenment and eman- 
cipation." — Edgar S. Werner, in Werners Magazine. 

That there is such a study as vocal science, apart 
vii 



Duality of Voice 

from the prescribed rules of singing and oratory, is 
not generally known. But here we have an " outline 
of original research " along lines of experiment and 
philosophy that have their foundation in the principles 
of the New Metaphysics. As an index to character the 
voice is pre-eminent, but its interpretation is difficult 
without knowledge of spiritual science; for, as Mr. 
Sutro clearly shows, vocal utterance is not a mere phys- 
ically vibrated air current. In the human race espe- 
cially, it is a phenomenon of soul activity — an echo of 
thought — having its origin, not in the larynx, but in 
the psychic principle known to all students of the 
Science of Being. Speech is a faculty rather than a 
function; and its cultivation as taught in this unique 
book, is more a matter of mental broadening than of 
vocal-cord training. For this recognition of the spirit- 
ual element in all true art and science, the author merits 
the commendation of the metaphysical world, and for 
furnishing teachers with the key to accurate instruction 
he is entitled to the gratitude of all schools of voice 
culture. — John Emery McLean, in Mind, New York 
City. 

" I know many of your experiments are valuable. 
Some I have tried and found true, and some which I 
have tried have given me no results. I am going over 
the book again, and propose to keep at it till I am sat- 
isfied. Please, Mr. Sutro, do not be impatient with 
me, or with others in our profession. We take up 
things slowly, and when anything proposes to revolu- 
tionize our whole work, we are very liable, and nat- 
urally — to want to be deliberate. I know how serious- 
ly in earnest you are, and to one who feels that he has 



Press Opinions 

a revolutionary discovery every hour seems long. It 
seems to him that all others must feel the same enthu- 
siasm." (Signed) 

" Please accept my sincere thanks for your kind- 
ness in sending me a copy of your new book, ' Duality 
of Voice.' 

" I have read it with very great interest. I am go- 
ing over it again and shall study it. There are many 
things you say that are helpful to me ; there are others 
that I do not understand, because they open an unex- 
plored country to me, but they have set me thinking, 
and I thank you very much for the impetus given. 

" I am a teacher, and am grateful for such original 
ideas as you have produced. 

" Thanking you again, and wishing you great suc- 
cess, I am," etc. (Signed) 

" I appreciate with you, Sir, the immense value of 
the work from a strictly scientific standpoint, but feel 
disinclined to endorse the book while representing, as 
I do, an audience most of whom should be led away 
from, rather than toward, the abstract or abstruse 
phases of musical study." 

(Signed) 

" I have read your book with great interest, and 
with as much thought as I could give it at one perusal. 
My experience and research has prepared my mind to 
accept the general principles of your philosophy. 
There are certain details I do not understand, and as 
to these I reserve judgment. I feel that your discov- 
ery, in its broad sense, is as great as any the world has 
ever made," etc. (Signed) 



Duality of Voice 

Corroboration of the observations regarding the 
" larynx of the oesophagus." " A friend has brought 
me your books, and I am greatly interested in the parts 
of them which relate to the vicinity of the frcenum Un- 
gues, because that has for many years been of great 
assistance in my teaching the use of the voice. My 
observations have been of the wonderfully delicate 
shaping and deepening, in connection with the pitch 
and elements of pronunciation, of the little space which 
the frcenum spans, and of the exquisite vibration con- 
centrated there; bringing all words into that place, so 
talked about and sought for by all vocalists, ' the front 
of the mouth/ It co-operates in its marvellous way 
with other means, which perhaps are among the ac- 
companying actions of which you speak as forthcom- 
ing in future writing. I shall be much interested to 
see what more you will publish." , 

(Signed) 

Your book is a deep inspiration to me. I have de- 
layed writing in the hope of being able to read it 
through, but in these days of the opening of my school 
and myself new in the principalship, I have hardly had 
a moment to call my own. I read straight on to " Pos- 
terior Surfaces " the moment I received the book, in 
haste to catch one line after another — so engrossing 
and so suggestive is all that you say — but at this point 
I was forced reluctantly to close it. Yet 68 pages 
were enough to convince me of the remarkable and sig- 
nificant nature of your work. Even with this begin- 
ning, I can thank you for one of the greatest encour- 
agements and spiritual stimuli that have come into my 
life. (Signed) 



Press Opinions 

I have had the opportunity of getting the loan of 
your book, " Duality of Voice," from an American 
student at our conservatory, and I was able to study it 
and understand your ideas, their development and con- 
sequent teaching, and I beg to be classed in the num- 
ber of your admirers, and as far as my feeble mental 
powers will admit, of your disciples. It is a great pity 
it is not translated into Italian. 

(Signed) 

(Milan, Italy). 



SOME GERMAN PRESS OPINIONS ON 
DUALITY OF VOICE. 

The author is like a sower who sows his seed and 
awaits its fruition in the future. He explains fre- 
quently that the ideas established by him are to be re- 
garded as the foundation of an edifice whose construc- 
tion he expects, in time, to arise. What he propounds 
is conclusively supported by considerations of philos- 
ophy and race psychology and comparisons which have 
their origin in the poetic conception of the universe. 

Mr. Sutro attempts to discover the first cause of 
life. His studies are not to be the strongholds of fact, 
but he endeavors to discover what lies at the basis of 
these facts, or phenomena, in order to grasp eternally 
valid laws. 

The book offers anyone who will look into it such 
varied and such broad outlooks that each subject re- 
quires particular consideration. I cannot enter, into 
particulars without exceeding the limits of my task, 
which is merely to record the general impression left 
by the book. It is only possible to mention the princi- 
pal points. 

If I have correctly understood the author, the ori- 
gin of the voice is not only to be found in matter but 
also in the spirit. As the soul lives in and animates 
every portion of the body, so also is the voice to be dis- 
covered in every particle of the body. From the spirit- 



Press Opinions 

ual significance of the voice the author reasons to the 
proposition that language is the most important factor 
in the development of the characteristic traits of races 
in physical and psychological respect, and that the in- 
fluence of language is of like importance with that of 
heredity and climate. 

To the well-known theory that the soul creates the 
body fitted to it, Mr. Sutro opposes the assertion that 
the idiomatic expression of speech, which is to be 
looked upon as the soul, is precedent to articulate 
words, that idiomatic expression has its origin in the 
soul of a people, while words are to be looked upon as 
the bodies of speech in which the people clothe their 
thoughts. 

Some of the truths and discoveries announced by 
Mr. Sutro have been known before his time, only he 
has reached them anew through independent investi- 
gation. — Benno Horwitz, in Der Klavier-Lehrer, Ber- 
lin, Germany. 

The voice is an expression of the soul — is the soul 
embodied in spoken sound. The soul lives in and ani- 
mates every part of the human body. Language is the 
principal factor that lends character to the various 
races and nations, which distinguishes their nature and 
differentiates them one from another. Englishmen 
produce their tones differently from Germans. The 
intonation of the Anglo-Saxon will first fall and then 
rise, because he inhales into the thorax and exhales 
from the abdomen. The intonation of a German, on 
the contrary, will first rise and then fall, because he in- 
hales into the abdomen and exhales from the thorax. 
This is the fundamental cause of the difference in 



Duality of Voice 

idiomatic expression between the two languages and 
consequently of the difference in the national traits of 
these peoples, physical as well as psychic. 

So teaches this book, rich in new, bold, and ven- 
turesome assertions, which the learned anatomist and 
physiologist will read perhaps with many a brow wrin- 
kle. Nevertheless it is interesting, and especially to be 
recommended to teachers of singing. 

The idea that it is possible to find the expression of 
the individual soul-life in the voice needs wider and 
deeper investigation. People have been judged by 
their skulls, their features and their handwriting, why 
not then by their speech in all its elements ? 

The reader will soon notice that the author is much 
impressed with the importance and significance of his 
work. — Weinhold, in Psychische Studien, Leipzig, 
Germany. 

The author of this book, noteworthy in every re- 
spect, lacks neither self-consciousness nor energy, 
neither profundity nor acuteness of logic, neither es- 
sentiality nor the art of fitting everything possible in 
the circle of his observations into the web of his proof. 
And yet the book is laid away with the feeling that it 
has furnished more riddles than it has solved. 

The contents of the book no doubt will fill the anat- 
omist and laryngologist with dismay, but must be de- 
scribed as most interesting for the psychologist and 
useful and stimulating for the vocal instructor. 

The author points out an entirely new method of 
research into tone production which must gain an enor- 
mous influence over vocal instruction no less than over 
the chief judgments of spiritual functions, if the author 



Press Opinions 

succeeds in writing a text book systematically arranged 
and of equal value throughout. 

An adequate criticism of the contents of this " at- 
tempt " would early grow into a volume. Much of 
interest, much of value, but also much that is not made 
sufficiently clear, and that from the standpoint of pres- 
ent-day science is false, all this is fused together so 
that " not yet cleared up " seems to stamp the whole, 
and it would be unjust at this time to pronounce a 
definitive judgment upon it. 

The book is recommended as a stimulating lecture 
to professional men, psychologists and such dilettanti 
as do not care to remain stuck on the mere surface of 
phenomena. — Masikdirector Pochhammer, Die Um- 
schau, Frankfort A. M., April 4, 1903. 

A book that seems destined to attract the attention 
of every one interested in vocal music. The author at- 
tacks severely the physiology of the present day in 
that in its examination of the voice it has attended only 
to the larynx and its related organs, leaving entirely 
out of sight the oesophagus, the other important en- 
trance to the internal cavity. He asserts that the lat- 
ter is not merely a canal through which we furnish 
the body with material aliment, but that through it a 
respiration actually takes place. He attributes to the 
oesophagus the same relation to the abdominal cavity 
as the wind-pipe bears to the thoracic cavity. If Sutro 
is right in this conception — and he offers proof whose 
convincing power is not to be denied — then we must 
also credit him when he asserts that in the upper part 
of the oesophagus a vocalization takes place. In the 
production of every vocal tone, a positive tonal ele- 



Duality of Voice 

ment is combined with a negative. The first is repre- 
sented by the primary vocal tone that issues from the 
larynx and the latter by the voice of the oesophagus. 
On the adverse differentiations of both elements rest 
the idiomatic characteristics of the different languages. 

This short resume ought to be sufficient to arouse a 
study of this interesting work and a utilization of the 
teaching therein developed by both singer and sing- 
ing teacher. 

A finished " Method " rightly so called the book 
does not contain. Nevertheless the thoughtful vocal 
instructor will find in the work many an indication 
which he can turn to immediate use in his instruction. 
— Harmonie Kalender, Berlin, Germany. 

This work, the product of deep reflection and years 
of experiment, is the first attempt to explain the nature 
of the human voice by combining the spiritual ele- 
ment with the material. How little the former is con- 
sidered by others may be gathered by looking over the 
numerous works on vocal instruction in which the 
whole subject of putting soul into song is dismissed 
with the observation that while this is necessary to 
the attainment of true artistic success, yet it can neither 
be taught nor explained. We even see Lillie Leh- 
mann in the work which sums up her wide experience, 
" Meine Gesangskunst," paying attention solely to the 
larynx and the other vocal organs. 

The author of the above work starts out with the 
proposition that singing as well as speaking is a physio- 
psychic process and that we shall never be able to 
get at the nature of tone production while we confine 
ourselves entirely to one side of the question. 



Press Opinions 

The author furnishes an entirely new foundation 
for the teaching of singing and the cultivation of the 
voice. His views, as is often the case with original 
thinkers, are revolutionary ; but in the future no one ! 
who would cultivate his own or a pupil's voice can 
disregard them. 

Of no less importance is that which the author has 
to say about the nature and origin of language. At a 
time when it is the tendency to regard language as a 
mere awkward tacking between thoughts, as is shown 
by Mauthner's last work, it is pleasing to find a man 
who has the courage to pronounce language the de- 
terminative factor in the development of a nation and 
to bring forward convincing arguments in support 
of his belief. 

German-Americans can see from this book the rea- 
sons why the conservation of the German Language in 
their families is the only means of preserving their na- 
tionality; the only way to prevent their thorough 
Americanization. 

This work ought to be found in every cultivated 
family. — Die Neue Welt, Philadelphia. 

The work seems destined to occasion a great revo- 
lution in the conception of the nature of the human 
voice and to cause the development and care of the 
voice to be built up on a new and natural basis. It is 
therefore of great importance for singers and singing 
teachers, but not less so for actors, elocutionists and 
readers. 

Through the light which it throws on the life, the 
soul, and the hitherto too little regarded relation be- 



Duality of Voice 

tween the soul and the body, it takes on a great inter- 
est for the psychologist, and the educated generally. 

We can recommend with good conscience this pro- 
found work to our readers and believe we shall have 
their gratitude for so doing. — Muenchner Signale, 
Germany. 

Sutro's " Duality of Voice" appeared in 1899 in 
New York and London and aroused due attention in 
professional circles. The present translation . . . 
will no doubt give rise to considerable discussion. 
There is in the book so much that is new, part of which 
is disputable and part well grounded, that it must be 
referred to specialists for criticism. By all means it 
must not be read superficially. It requires long and 
profound study. Singing teachers, singers and pro- 
fessors of rhetoric will follow its contents with the 
same interest as teachers of language, instructors of 
the deaf and dumb and psychologists. — Breslauer 
Zeitung, Germany. 

Dr. M. R. Steinberg, the well-known physician and 
specialist, who attends patients suffering from throat 
diseases in his clinical hospital at San Remo, Italy, 
and at Meran, in the Tyrol, after reading this book, 
says : — 

" Mr. Sutro appears to me to be a highly sensitive 
psychological observer and truth seeker. 

" It is a well authenticated anatomical fact that the 
sympathetic nervous plexus of the oesophagus, in the 
method of its lymph supply, is in relation with the vital 
functions of the laryngeal plexus. 

" Though I am not of the opinion that the stomach 



Press Opinions 



produces the sounds of what is commonly known as 
the ' Weinbasstimme,' still, I am well convinced that 
the varying distension of its tissues greatly conduces 
to the volume and color of the human voice. 

" We say to a debilitated person ' you talk from 
your stomach,' and mean to express thereby an ab- 
sence of intonation in his voice. Hence, it is not im- 
possible that, conversely, the hollow space of the stom- 
ach may participate in producing the singing voice. 

" Mr. Sutro's comparative studies of language are 
ingenious, stimulating — delightful reading in fact — 
to every student of the physiology 7 of speech. I highly 
recommend their perusal to persons dealing with either 
sound or diseased organs of the voice. 

" In my international clinic, I have, for the past 
18 years, either at one and the same time, or closely 
one after the other, spoken five or six living languages, 
meanwhile almost constantly observing my own or- 
gans of speech. I have thus had ample opportunity of 
ascertaining that the larynx and its cords, as well as 
the face axis, for every separate language assume a 
different position. I have also observed that the same 
disease, such as pharyngitis acuta, in places which 
come in contact with the breathing and voice air, as- 
sumes a different phase with Anglo-Saxons, Roman- 
ics and Slavs. 

" Personally, I consider the Formation of the 
voice as a paramount brain activity. Its culture, as 
the word Formation indicates, requires, at the least, 
from five to ten years of continuous, close and many- 
sided, attention and study. 

" The knowledge of what takes place in the prompt 



Duality of Voice 



association between throat and brain impulse, is the 
secret which, when revealed, will be the highest result 
that can be attained." 

The veteran Wagner singer and vocal teacher, 
says: 

" It seems almost incredulous how an amateur, 
not possessing any knowledge of the technical mode 
of artistic song production, should have been able to 
hit the nail so straight on the head as Mr. Emil Sutro 
has done. He is,- as far as I am aware, the first man 
who has put down, black on white, the very thing 
which is needed to-day more than ever, in consequence 
of this great Wagner era : ' the true inwardness of 
the soul element in song/ 

" I had entered upon this same study in my book 
just published in Berlin, but I have no hesitancy in 
stating that Mr. Sutro has treated the subject with 
greater depth, more precisely, and in many respects 
more correctly, than I have been able to do. I was 
fairly startled by the magnitude and truthfulness of 
his observations and I consider him worthy, in many 
respects, as being considered an investigator of the 
very first order. The principles underlying his funda- 
mental thoughts are unexceptional, nor are his deduc- 
tions lacking in lucidity. That his book, Duality of 
Voice, should cause, with many, a shaking of their 
heads, would appear natural, but this doubt is not to 
Mr. Sutro's disadvantage. Pity he should not have 
fifty more years of life and activity before him. His 
pioneer work should be read by all who are honestly 
devoted to our art." — Anton Schott. 



Press Opinions 

" Duality of Voice " contains the result of the in- 
vestigations to which the author was led originally by 
accidental circumstances, but which speedily grew so 
in scope and significance that he finally gave himself 
up to them, and now for almost a quarter of a century 
has looked upon them as his life work. 

Emil Sutro, whose cradle rocked in the old im- 
perial city of Aachen, came to the United States at 
an early age. In a linguistic respect he was, as he 
thought, well equipped for his entrance into the new 
world. But he was soon forced to make the unwel- 
come discovery that his English pronunciation was as 
far from the true usage as the heavens are from the 
earth. By reason of the love of research and the thor- 
oughness which he had brought with him as an heir- 
loom from the fatherland, he set out at once to trace 
the causes which produced this embarrassing differ- 
ence. 

In order to approximate as nearly as possible the 
pronunciation of English in the country of his adop- 
tion, he turned his attention in the first place to the 
English vowel sounds, upon which everything seemed 
to depend, and sought to discover their exact point 
of origin. These observations, carried on with great 
persistency, led to the amazing discovery that the 
method of tone-production in both languages is by no 
means the simple thing portrayed by the wisdom of 
the district school, but that the air columns play about 
the root of the tongue in a most complicated way, and 
that in this respect the German and English vocaliza- 
tion present strongly contrasted characteristics. 

It is obvious that these results were not reached in 



Duality of Voice 

a day, but that years of effort and unwavering applica- 
tion were necessary. These endeavors, however, were 
finally rewarded with results that were as unexpected 
as they transcended the author's original goal. For 
the most part his original search for the achievement 
of a correct, idiomatic English pronunciation was 
forced into the background as he began to realize the 
extent and significance of his discoveries. 

Sutro was not satisfied merely to observe and de- 
scribe the vocal phenomena after the manner of a 
physiologist, but his aim was to explain them. The 
first important step he took in carrying out this pur- 
pose was to establish the fact that not only the part 
of the mouth cavity lying above the tongue, but also 
the cavity under the tongue, entirely left out of account 
by students of phonetics, together with the frsenum 
linguae, which in contrast to the larynx he denomi- 
nates the " replica," are of the greatest importance in 
this respect. Further research led him to the discov- 
ery, destined to become fundamental to his theory, 
that not merely the trachea served the purpose of 
breathing and tone production, but that respiration 
took place also through the oesophagus and that in it 
also tones were produced. " The theory," he writes, 
" by which our physical and psychic existence is made 
to depend upon a single stream of air entering through 
the mouth and nose into the trachea seems to me tc 
rest upon the narrowest and most primitive point of 
view that men can possibly assume when dealing with 
the most important questions with which our intellects 
must wrestle. 

" The great tube of the oesophagus opening likewise 



Press Opinions 

into the mouth, exercises similar functions for the 
abdomen as the trachea for the thorax. Instead of 
calling attention to the million of openings through 
which we breathe, pores of the skin, etc., science 
teaches us that we inspire and expire through a single 
tube in and out of an airtight cavity — a mechanically 
unthinkable operation. In accordance with this ob- 
scure process the air is supposed to find its way into 
the thorax and out again after having transferred its 
oxygen to the blood in the blood-vessels. In the mean- 
time the rest of the body is perishing for want of 
fresh sustenance, since never a breath can reach it 
except indirectly through the blood-vessels. To my 
simple and unlearned intellect it seems that if such 
were in reality the case — though the blood flow never 
so fast — in a short time the whole hemisphere of the 
abdomen would be given over to destruction." 

Sutro's whole theory, as we have already said, is 
based on the recognition of the fact that the oesopha- 
gus not only serves the purpose of conducting aliment 
to the body but that it also serves the higher purpose 
of furnishing air to the abdomen, and on the discov- 
ery of the voice of the oesophagus. 

The vibrating column of air that issues from the 
oesophagus takes its course through the replica de- 
scribed above, which in this relation is seen to be the 
proper counterpart of the larynx. Every vocal sound 
that issues from the mouth is made up of two vibra- 
ting columns of air, that from the larynx and that 
from the oesophagus. In every utterance then we 
must recognize the resultant of the activity on the one 




Duality of Voice 

hand of the trachea and the thorax, and on the other 
of the oesophagus and the abdomen. 

Since, then, " through the hemispheres of the tho- 
rax and of the abdomen the dual nature of organic 
existence in general, and of man in particular, is por- 
trayed, the thorax wholly psychic, the abdomen wholly 
material," it is evident that the voice, which has its ori- 
gin in both hemispheres, must partake of the same 
dual nature. In fact, the human voice is the very char- 
acteristic in which the duality of human nature is most 
clearly to be perceived. 

That this recognition of this nature of the voice, 
this so simple and convincing explanation of the vocal 
function, must be of the greatest importance to those 
whose calling requires constant use of the voice, as 
singers, actors, elocutionists and clergymen, goes 
without saying. The proper understanding of the na- 
ture and action of the vocal organism is the indispen- 
sable condition of such a use of the voice as will not 
injure both itself and the organism in general. Only 
on these principles will it be possible to exercise to the 
full the capabilities of the voice and use them up to 
the bounds of possibility. 

The hot search of singing teachers of all times and 
schools has always hitherto been for a method to 
strengthen and intensify the sound produced. From 
the " arpeggio " of the Italians down to the " archway 
of air" by which the latest German school swears, 
stretches an unbroken chain of more or less fortu- 
nate attempts at the solution of the problem. Sutro 
was the first to penetrate to the core of the matter and 
to reach a complete and satisfying explanation. It will 



Press Opinions 

now be the duty of the reflective singing teacher to 
follow up the suggestions made by Sutro and build 
his instruction on this basis enriched by the materials 
their experience v T ill furnish. Those vocal instructors 
who have at heart the development of their art will 
not willingly let slip the opportunity to do something 
that will advance it in real measure. 

" The conjunction and interlacing of corporeal and 
psychic factors, illustrated by the breathing from both 
the thorax and the abdomen, produces the phenomenon 
we call life." It was reserved for Sutro by means of 
his discovery to present the most rational explanation 
of this phenomenon, and it was he who first made an 
exhaustive study of this vitalization of the material by 
means of the psychic. The vital phenomenon which 
in this respect presents the most favorable relation is 
the voice, which consequently Sutro places at the cen- 
tre of his system. On the other hand Sutro found 
that the problem of the voice was so closely associated 
with the problems of life that it became necessary for 
him to work out thoroughly the logical conclusions. 
To a considerable degree this was done in the present 
book, but he intends to devote a work especially to this 
subject that will shortly appear also in a German 
edition. 

It is evident then that this book, " Duality of 
Voice," contains far more than the title would indi- 
cate. 

It is of course entirely impossible in the small space 
allotted to this brief review to treat adequately all the 
subjects touched on by Sutro in the wide reach of his 
researches. It would not be beyond our purposes, 



Duality of Voice 

however, to mention a few of the subjects of special 
importance : 

After Sutro had succeeded in gaming, by means 
of his studies in the dual nature of the voice, an in- 
sight into the dual nature of man — an insight of as yet 
unequalled clarity — he returned to the starting-point 
of his studies and reviewed the characteristics of the 
Anglo-Saxon and Germanic races, and found that the 
points of difference between these races could all be 
referred to a different method of breathing and voice 
production. He sought further for the cause of the 
remarkable phenomenon " that foreigners who come 
to the United States as adults, always remain foreign- 
ers, while their children born and raised here or even 
coming here when young grow up to be true Ameri- 
cans," and he arrived at the conclusion that the potent 
agency that works this revolution of national charac- 
teristics is solely and alone the English language. On 
account of the lively interest which the German news- 
papers have been taking in American relations for the 
last few years, the subtile exposition which Sutro has 
devoted to this question lends it an added interest, and 
it is to be wondered at that none of the more or less 
well known portrayers of the " land of unbounded pos- 
sibilities " has drawn on the works of the man who 
has devoted the greatest part of his life to the study 
of this matter and who can claim both countries for 
his fatherland. 

It cannot be doubted but that ethnologists, and 
especially students of the modern languages, will draw 
large interest on the capital of Sutro's book. What 
great tasks are still to be performed can be imagined 



Press Opinions 

when we reflect that the great territories investigated 
by Sutro in the domain of the German and English 
languages still remain terra incognita for the Ro- 
mance, Slavic and other tongues. 

The author adds suggestive observations on the 
subject of the psychic causes of stuttering and stam- 
mering, and gives valuable hints for overcoming these 
anomalies. 

The work also gives many valuable suggestions 
to the instructors of the deaf and dumb, and at the 
same time demands that they should enrich the sub- 
ject with their observations drawn from their expe- 
rience in teaching articulation. 

It is hardly necessary to remark that this work is 
particularly worthy of the careful examination of psy- 
chologists. The modern scientist will not be so fa- 
vorably inclined toward a work that is based on a dual- 
istic conception. The fact, however, that students 
like Kant, Virchow, Du Bois-Reymond, and Wundt 
in their ripest age turned their backs on mon- 
ism and accepted a dualistic point of view should be 
ever kept in view. Not every earnest scientist will be 
inclined with Haeckel to search for the ground of this 
change in a retrograde psychic metamorphosis. But 
finally Sutro's dualism is of a different kind than that 
just mentioned and it may well be assumed that the 
gulf between him and the trend of modern scientific 
opinion can be bridged. 

In closing it must be again remarked that in these 
few pages only a fragmentary presentation of Sutro's 
teaching can be given. The exact motivation, the con- 
vincing demonstration, as well as the detailed descrip- 



Duality of Voice 



tion of the whole course of study which Sutro has gone 
through, the reader who is so inclined must find in 
the book itself. He will not regret the trouble. His 
industry will bear rich fruit. The author will see his 
best reward in the wider prosecution of his investiga- 
tions. 

F. H. Schneider. 
Berlin, Germany. 



MAY BE ORDERED THROUGH ANY BOOKSELLER 

flDr. £mil Sutro's Worfoe 

THE BASIC LAW 
OF VOCAL UTTERANCE 

A RECITAL OF A GREAT DISCOVERY 
Cloth, i2mo, 124 pages. $1.00. 



DUALITY OF VOICE 

"Marks the beginning of a new era. " — Minneapolis Tribune 

Cloth, umo, 22i pages. $1.50. 

A German edition of this work can be obtained. Price, 
$2.00. 



DUALITY OF THOUGHT 
AND LANGUAGE 

SHOWS THE SUPREMACY OF SPIRITUALITY 

OVER MATTER, IN MAN 
Cloth, i2mo, 300 pages. $1.50. 



Published under the auspices of The International 
Physio-Psychic Society of 1204 Broadway, New York 
City, and at Berlin, Germany 

flDr, J£mil Sutro's Worfta 



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